Dave Tepper has not been an NFL owner for a very long time. However, he’s wasted no time letting everyone know where he comes down on the issue of NFL anthem protests.
Tepper, the billionaire businessman and hedge fund manager who purchased the Panthers in the offseason, decried President Trump’s rants against the protesters as “the biggest bunch of bull-dinky ever.”
According to the New York Post:
NFL players are the ‘most patriotic people’ in the country — with substantial charitable contributions to their local communities, Tepper said in an interview on CNBC.
Tepper did not mention Trump by name but at one point in the interview referred to the red-headed man in Washington.
During the interview, the hedgie recited the Pledge of Allegiance, calling its words among the most patriotic things he knows and it being what America is about. Tepper emphasized during his pledge the words, ‘and justice for all.’
In a nod to the social justice cause NFL players claim to be protesting for, Tepper said the national anthem during his interview, placing special emphasis on the words, “and justice for all.”
This is hardly Tepper’s first foray into politics. Just prior to the 2016 election, the founder of Appaloosa Management blasted both Hillary Clinton and then-candidate Trump.
“You have one person with questionable judgment and the other person may be demented, narcissistic and a scumbag. Not saying which one’s which. You can make your own decision on that,” Tepper explained in October 2016.
The protest movement launched by former 49er Colin Kapernick, is entering its third year.
Kaepernick filed a collusion grievance against the NFL earlier this year alleging that the league’s owners had conspired under pressure from President Trump, to keep him out of the league. The former 49er’s legal team won their summary judgment case against the league last week, meaning that the case can now proceed to the trial phase.
The NFL changed their anthem policy in May, requiring all players on the field to stand and show respect during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner. However, the NFLPA filed a grievance against the league, accusing the NFL of not including them in the decision making process. The NFL then suspended the enforcement provisions of the new rule, until the two sides could come to a compromise on a new rule.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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