The idea of Donald Trump becoming president has become so nauseating for some people that it starting to affect not only the workplace, but the sports we watch.
In a new report from B/R Mag (Bleacher Report Magazine), NFL franchises are just as divided as America when it comes to supporting Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton for president. Over the past four months, B/R Mag conducted a dozens of interviews with NFL players to get their take on the election and their thoughts on Trump.
In a straw poll, B/R Mag found that:
-20 of 22 black NFL players plan to vote for Hillary Clinton.
-2 of 22 black NFL players plan to vote for Donald J. Trump.
-21 of 21 white NFL players plan to vote for Trump.
The racial divide between Clinton and Trump supporters has never been more apparent than inside NFL locker rooms.
“I see Trump as someone who is hostile to people of color,” said one black player with the Buffalo Bills, who spoke on anonymity fearing repercussions. He went on to say that when he heard that the team’s head coach, Rex Ryan, endorsed the Republican nominee and even addressed a Trump rally, he was taken aback.
Richie Incognito, a white Bills player and the only interviewee to not request anonymity, believes that Trump’s message has resonated with a lot of NFL players, including him.
“I think that he can help this nation get back to a world superpower,” Incognito said. “Where I think he could help is putting us first again and having that—it’s my mentality, too—having that tough attitude where you put America first and everyone’s thinking we’re the greatest nation in the world. Don’t mess with America. That toughness is where I identify with him.”
Yet, confrontations have boiled over and friendships have ended all due to the fact that players can’t handle it when they find out their friend and teammate supports Trump. One coach was even cited as saying that they’ve banned all discussions of Trump — not politics in general — while on team property.
This just proves that no one is safe from a good ol’ Trump triggering, not even tough and rugged football players.
