National Football League players Sunday showed their solidarity in protest of recent comments by President Trump.
Players from the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars got the jump on everyone else by kneeling or locking arms in protest during the national anthem before the kickoff of their game in London Sunday morning.
Back in the U.S, players in the nine early games followed suit before their contests started.
On Sunday morning, Trump continued his Twitter attack on the most successful sports league in the country.
"If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you would see change take place fast," Trump posted on Twitter. "Fire or suspend!"
In a later post he said: "...NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN. Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love our country. League should back U.S."
The Pittsburgh Steelers stayed in the visitors' locker room at Soldier Field in Chicago during the national anthem. The only Steelers player who was visible was left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, a former Army Ranger who stood at the edge of the tunnel with his hand over his heart during the anthem.
In an interview with CBS before the game, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin explained the decision to stay in the locker room: "We're not going to play politics. We're football players, we're football coaches. We're not participating in the anthem today. Not to be disrespectful to the anthem, but to remove ourselves from this circumstance. People shouldn't have to choose. If a guy wants to go about his normal business and participate in the anthem, he shouldn't have to be forced to choose sides. If a guy feels the need to do something, he shouldn't be separated from his teammate who chooses not to. So we're not participating today. That's our decision. We're going to be 100 percent. We came here to play a football game. That's our intent."
Around the league, several team owners locked arms in solidarity with their players and coaches, among them Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan _ who contributed $1 million to Trump's presidential campaign _ Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and Detroit Lions owner Martha Ford.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft issued a statement Sunday morning saying he was "deeply disappointed by the tone" of Trump's comments. Kraft is a close friend of Trump's and also contributed $1 million to his campaign.
About two dozen Patriots locked arms before their home game against Houston, among them quarterback Tom Brady.
The protests, which had largely died down in the NFL, came after President Trump's comments at a political rally Friday, when he challenged NFL owners to fire any player who didn't stand for the anthem.
Last week, just six of the about 1,600 active players didn't stand for the anthem as part of the protests, originally intended to call attention to police shootings of unarmed black men and to the Black Lives Matter movement.
