Trump cites progress because NFL teams no longer kneel during the national anthem.
US President Donald Trump saw it as progress that Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals players did not kneel during the playing of the US national anthem before the game between the two teams, held on Monday night (25) in Phoenix; NFL players began kneeling during the anthem in 2016, when then San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand in protest over the deaths of black people at the hands of white police officers.
Reuters - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised two National Football League (NFL) teams that avoided controversy by standing during the American national anthem before a game on Monday night, even though players protested in other ways.
During the game in Phoenix, Dallas Cowboys players crossed their arms and knelt on the field, then stood for the playing of the United States national anthem. Arizona Cardinals players also crossed their arms, but did not kneel.
“However, although Dallas knelt as a team, they all stood for the national anthem. Great progress being made -- we all love our country!”, Trump wrote on Twitter, continuing his war of words with the multi-billion dollar NFL.
"The viewership for NFL football is very low, except before the start of the game, when people tune in to see if our country will be disrespected or not," he added.
This was Trump's latest statement after the president fueled a feud with players from the biggest professional sports league in the United States last week.
On Friday, Trump said at a political event that any protesting player is a "son of a bitch" who should be fired, and called for a boycott of NFL games, triggering protests from dozens of players, coaches and some team owners ahead of games on Sunday.
NFL players began kneeling during the national anthem last year when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand in protest over the deaths of black people at the hands of white police officers in the U.S.