President Trump blasted the NFL on Tuesday night, for the league’s continued tolerance of players protesting during the playing of the national anthem.
Trump told supporters at a rally in West Virginia: “You are proud of our history. And unlike the NFL, you always honor and cherish our great American flag:”
NFL players have been engaged in protests during the national anthem for the last three seasons. The league handed down a new policy in May, which required players on the field to stand and show respect for the flag and anthem. While allowing players who didn’t want to show respect, to remain in the locker room.
However, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) filed a grievance against the league. Objecting, among other things, to the fact that the league did not include them in the decision making process which led to the new rule.
As a result, the league suspended the new policy until the NFL-NFLPA could produce a joint anthem policy. However, two weeks into the preseason, the two sides have failed to produce such a resolution and the anthem protests have continued.
President Trump has been a frequent critic of the protests, and the NFL. Prior to the league’s rule change, several top NFL executives said that the president’s criticisms played a large part in convincing owners to create a policy that attempted to curb the protests.
The first full-slate of NFL regular season games, begins on September 9th.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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