Watch Trump go off on ESPN, NFL about national anthem policy at West Virginia rally
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Cowboys owner Jerry Jones may have to abide by the NFL’s gag order when it comes to discussing players kneeling during the national anthem as a way of protesting social injustices.
But Donald Trump most certainly does not.
On Tuesday, the president’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was found guilty of eight financial crimes.
Less than 30 minutes later, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, plead guilty to tax evasion, falsifying submissions to a bank and campaign finance violations in Manhattan federal court.
But despite the problems those legal outcomes could create for the president, Trump decided to re-visit one of his favorite topics at a campaign rally for Republican gubernatorial candidate Patrick Morrisey at the Charleston Civic Center in West Virginia on Tuesday.
“You’re proud of our country, you’re proud of our history, and unlike the NFL, you always honor and cherish our great American flag,” Trump said. “It was just announced by ESPN that rather than defending our anthem, our beautiful, beautiful national anthem and defending our flag, they’ve decided that they just won’t broadcast when they play the national anthem. We don’t like that.”
Trump went on.
“So while the players are kneeling, some of them, not all of them at all, you’re all proudly standing for out national anthem,” he told the crowd.
Trump singled out ESPN, after the network announced that it wouldn’t broadcast the national anthem for its ‘Monday Night Football’ telecasts.
This past May, NFL owners approved a policy requiring players to either stand for the anthem or remain in the locker room. However, the league remains in talks with the NFL Players Association about the policy.
As a result, players have not and will not be punished for conducting forms of protest during the anthem during the NFL preseason.
Last Friday, ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro, who just started in that role, told members of the media that the program’s anthem policy could be subject to change.