The National Football League on Monday blasted President Trump for criticizing players who protest the national anthem on Twitter rather than engaging the league directly.
“There has been extraordinary amount of dialogue with our players and teams and none with the president,” NFL spokesperson Joe Lockhart told reporters during a press conference call Monday.
Lockhart, a former spokesperson for President Bill Clinton, also invoked Trump’s infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump made comments about grabbing women’s genitals. Trump and his surrogates characterized the remarks as “locker room talk.”
“Everyone should know, including the president, that this is what real locker room talk is,” Lockhart said.
He added he is not surprised by the president’s attacks.
“It did wake me up Saturday morning. I feel like I have been around this track a few times,” Lockhart added. “When the president of United States calls someone a son of a bitch that’s a story … we are not the only ones. Over the weekend he called out several NBA players. He called out a North Korean leader and Sen. John McCain all before I had coffee Saturday morning.”
Lockhart is inviting President Trump to engage in constructive dialogue with its players directly rather than making public statements and tweets.
“If the president wants to engage in something positive or constructive he knows our number,” he said.
