President Donald Trump on Sunday called on NFL fans to stop attending games in order to spur league and team officials to either "fire or suspend" players who protest by refusing to stand during the national anthem.
He tweeted hours before a day of demonstrations on the field and mounting team owner condemnation of his remarks on Friday calling protesting players a "son of a b----."
"If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast. Fire or suspend!" Trump posted Sunday. "NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN. Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love our country. League should back U.S."
Before their matchup in London, members of the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars football teams linked arms in solidarity as other players knelt in protest while the national anthem was played before the start of the game at Wembley Stadium. The Associated Press reported that about two dozen players, including Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs and Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette, took a knee.
Jaguars owner Shahid Khan linked arms with players and in a statement called Trump's remarks "divisive and contentious."
"Our team and the National Football League reflects our nation, with diversity coming in many forms _ race, faith, our views and our goals," Khan said.
The Pittsburgh Steelers would not be on the field to participate in the anthem, opting to stay in the locker room before the team's afternoon game in Chicago against the Bears, according to CBS.
On Friday night, Trump was speaking at a rally in Huntsville, Ala., in support of Republican Sen. Luther Strange when he used profanity in saying the NFL should oust players who protest 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 b---- off the field right now. He is fired. He's fired!' " the president said to applause.
Colin Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, last year began taking a knee during the Star-Spangled Banner in an act the athlete said protested the country's oppression of people of color, and other players have followed suit.
On Saturday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Trump's comments were "divisive" and "demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities."
Like Khan, several other team owners spoke out against the president's comments, including some who had supported Trump's campaign and are close friends with him.
"I'm (expletive) off, I'll be honest with you," former Jets head coach Rex Ryan said on ESPN. "Because I supported Donald Trump. I sat back when he asked me to introduce him at a rally in Buffalo, I did that.
"But I'm reading these comments, and it's appalling to me. And I'm sure it's appalling to almost any citizen in our country. It should be," he said. "Calling our players SOBs and that kind of stuff. That's not the man that I know."
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a longtime friend of Trump's, said he supports his players' "right to peacefully affect social change" how they see fit and is "deeply disappointed" by Trump's remarks on Friday.
"There is no greater unifier in this country than sports, and unfortunately, nothing more divisive than politics," Kraft said in a statement. "I think our political leaders could learn a lot from the lessons of teamwork and the importance of working together toward a common goal. Our players are intelligent, thoughtful and care deeply about our community and I support their right to peacefully affect social change and raise awareness in a manner that they feel is most impactful."
New York Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) tweeted his support for the president's position.
"Proud to stand with (at)POTUS Trump in support of standing for National Anthem in support of America's military and police," King wrote.
Trump over the weekend also condemned NBA players for hesitating to visit the White House, saying he had disinvited Golden State Warriors star player Stephen Curry for the traditional championship visit to the presidential residence.
The Warriors responded in a statement that they won't go to the White House and will instead visit Washington, D.C., in February for events promoting inclusivity.
The Pittsburgh Penguins said in a statement Sunday that they accepted the invitation to visit to the White House to mark their Stanley Cup championship, but the NHL team added that its members "very much respect the rights of other individuals and groups to express themselves as they see fit."
On the Sunday TV talk-show circuit, Trump administration officials backed the president's stance that NFL team owners should discourage their players from demonstrating.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said players should protest off the field and that the president believes NFL team owners should institute a rule that they stand for the anthem.
"It's not about free speech ... they can do free speech on their own time," he told ABC News' "This Week."
"The NFL has all different types of rules. You can't have stickers on your helmet. You have to have your jerseys tucked in," Mnuchin said. "I think what the president is saying is that the owners should have a rule that players should have to stand in respect for the national anthem."
White House legislative affairs director Marc Short said on "Fox News Sunday": "All across America, high school coaches are getting punished for leading their players in prayer. They're getting punished and disciplined for asking their players to prayer. Yet, in the NFL, players who take a knee over a flag that many of our generations preceding us have died to protect the freedoms there, they somehow get honored as martyrs by the media."
