Trump roils sports with fight over anthem protests

It’s a battle that seems likely to roll on, and increase in volume, for there is growing conviction and anger on both sides.

Addressing an exuberant crowd in an arena Friday evening, Trump brought up the issue at an event that originally had nothing to do with sports.

The rally, meant to gin up support for Sen. Luther Strange, who on Tuesday faces an uphill battle in a GOP runoff contest, took a hard turn to politics when Trump exhorted NFL team owners to fire players who kneel during the national anthem.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. He is fired. He’s fired,'” Trump declared.

Hours later Trump was back on offense, tweeting about NBA star Stephen Curry, who a day prior told reporters that he really didn’t want to go to the White House if his championship-winning team, the Golden State Warriors, attended a customary White House ceremony to celebrate their victory.

“Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team,” Trump declared in a tweet Saturday morning. “Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!”

The backlash has been fierce and widespread, including retorts from an array of players, politicians and civil rights groups.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell rebuked Trump over what he panned as “divisive” comments while celebrating some players’ recent efforts to raise a significant amount of money for people impacted by hurricanes that have wracked the Southeast U.S.

Trump has since fired back at Goodell, tweeting that the commissioner was tring to “justify” the “total disrespect certain players show to our country” — players, Trump noted, who have the “privilege” to make millions of dollars.

“Tell them to stand!” Trump demanded.

The NFL Players Association declared that “it will never back down” in supporting players’ rights.

“Whether or not Roger and the owners will speak for themselves about their views on player rights and their commitment to player safety remains to be seen,” NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said in a statement posted to Twitter Saturday morning. “This union, however, will never back down when it comes to protecting the constitutional rights of our players as citizens as well as their safety as men who compete in a game that exposes them to great risks.”

While a number of players also slammed the president for his attack on the NFL, including Redskins linebacker Zach Brown, who tweeted at Trump to “stay in [your] place,” the Trump faithful rallied to his cause. For example, Fox News’ Sean Hannity tweeted Saturday of the coming demise for the NFL if it and its players keep dabbling in politics. “If @NFL and players choose to continue to make political statements (their right) I predict fans who disagree will flee (their right also),” he said.

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sparked the kneeling controversy last season when he took a knee during the national anthem to protest the treatment of African Americans and other minorities in the U.S. The move was condemned by many but also celebrated and inspired a number of copy-cats in the NFL and other sports leagues.

Though it doesn’t appear that Kaepernick has responded to Trump’s latest comments himself, his mom reportedly did. After Trump referred to any NFL player who protests racism and police violence as a “son of a bitch,” an account bearing Theresa Kaepernick’s name tweeted, “Guess that makes me a proud bitch!”

The reaction to Trump’s incursion against the NBA’s Stephen Curry was no less dramatic.

A great deal of current and former NBA players rallied to Curry’s cause, including “King James” Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Magic Johnson.

It is traditional for sports teams that win their league’s national title to visit the White House for a public event. It’s also common for some members of the team to decline to visit as a way of registering opposition to the president. Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk declined to make the trip in 2013, for instance, citing then-President Barack Obama’s outspoken support for Planned Parenthood.

But hours after Trump’s tweet, the Golden State Warriors, seemingly in an act of solidarity with Curry, announced that they would not visit the White House.

“President Trump has made it clear that we are not invited,” a statement Saturday afternoon said. Instead, the team said that when they visit Washington, D.C., in February they will do something to “celebrate quality, diversity, and inclusion – the values that we embrace as an organization.”

On the same day, the University of North Carolina’s championship-winning men’s basketball team also announced they won’t make the customary visit to the White House. However, despite the coincidental timing, the Tar Heels attributed the decision to scheduling difficulties rather than political animus for Trump.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday in Oakland, Curry described the whole situation as “surreal.”

“I don’t know why he feels the need to target certain individuals rather than others,” Curry said. “I have an idea of why, but, it’s just kind of beneath, I think, a leader of a country to go that route. It’s not what leaders do.”

The long-term implications of Trump’s blitz into sports have yet to be seen, but a clue might come as early as Sunday when NFL teams clash in the third week of the season.

James appeared in a two-minute video to announce that he is “frustrated” with Trump, who he said “has tried to divide us once again,” while also bringing up the president’s controversial comments on the violence in Charlottesville, Va., last month.

“We all know how much sports brings us together, how much passion it has, how much we love and care and friendships and everything it creates,” James said. “And for him to try and use this platform, even more, it’s not something I can stand for, and it’s not something I can be quiet about.”

The NAACP’s official Twitter account beckoned players of all U.S. professional sports leagues, including the NFL, to take a knee, using the hashtag #takeaknee. Politicians also hopped into the fray. Former Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards from Maryland called on all football players to take a knee during the national anthem this weekend to protest Trump.

The one thing sports fans and politics wonks won’t see Sunday is whether Kaepernick takes a knee, as he is currently a free agent without a team.