President Trump’s criticisms of NFL players who kneel for the national anthem elevated the issue within the league and was a major factor in its decision to fine teams if their players continue to protest this way, according to a new report.
NFL team owners shed light on the extent of Trump’s influence in depositions they gave that were related to a grievance filed against the league by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who started the trend of kneeling for the national anthem in 2016 to protest police.
“I was totally supportive of [the players] until Trump made his statement,” Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said during his deposition, according to the Wall Street Journal. “I thought he changed the dialogue.”
The report said Trump pressed his case with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. “This is a very winning, strong issue for me,” Trump said in a call with Jones, the Journal reported. “Tell everybody, you can’t win this one. This one lifts me.”
After Trump’s initial criticism of players who knelt for the anthem, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called them “divisive,” and then-NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart, who left the league this year, said Trump was “out of touch.” Team owners discussed how to handle the protests during the fall league meeting in October, and ultimately decided not to change the rules.
But Trump used Twitter to urge NFL fans to boycott games if the league failed to crack down on the protests, and said the NFL should implement a rule requiring players to stand.
The depositions show that teams felt the impact of Trump’s call. Ross, Jones, and Houston Texans owner Bob McNair said their respective teams took a financial hit, which they attributed to players kneeling during the national anthem.
Ross said during his testimony that Jones brought up his conversation with Trump during a meeting with other owners on the national anthem protests. Even Goodell was swayed by the president’s remarks, he said.
But McNair, the owner of the Texans, said while he disliked the players taking a knee, he was not pleased with the president’s comments. “I wished he hadn’t said it,” McNair said.
The league had previously vowed to stay out of politics, but last week, the NFL announced team owners approved a new policy requiring players to stand for the national anthem. Under the new rules, teams will be fined if any personnel on the field do not stand. Players do have the option of remaining in the locker room or off the field until after the national anthem is performed.
Kaepernick filed his grievance against the NFL in October. He alleged league executives and all 32 teams colluded against him and prevented him from re-signing with another team in retaliation for his role in the national anthem protests.
Trump’s criticisms of the national anthem protests are cited multiple times in Kaepernick’s grievance, and the former quarterback said the president has “been an organizing force in the collusion among team owners in their conduct towards” Kaepernick and other players.
“Others have described the Trump administration as causing paradigm shifts in their views toward NFL players,” the grievance says.
