The NFL went out of its way to try and appease President Oppression Von Anusmouth’s demands to stop black players from kneeling during the national anthem to protest the overpolicing of black communities. The NFL’s concession and new national anthem policy was to have players stay in the locker room while “The Star-Spangled Banner” plays—but if they’re on the field, they have to stand.
Well, on Thursday, the president called the new policy “worse” than kneeling black players, proving that the NFL has, in fact, played itself.
“I don’t want to cause controversy, but how about they passed this stupid thing. You don’t have to do this anymore. If you don’t respect the flag or if you don’t like the country—or whatever it is—just go into the locker room,” Trump said during his Montana campaign rally, The Hill reports.
“I think in many respects, that’s worse. Isn’t this worse than not standing, you know? I think that’s worse,” the president added.
The Hill notes that just last year, Trump said that keeping players in the locker room would be “almost as bad as kneeling.” But did the NFL owners listen? Nope. They just ran out there, trying desperately to get their names off the president’s tongue. Despite the league being 70 percent black, the NFL values Trump’s base and always has.
The NFL owners might as well be NASCAR owners when it comes to race-based issues. The policy was haphazardly implemented after several Trump soundbites in which the president publicly stated that he’d not only walk out of NFL games if all the players didn’t stand for the anthem (who can forget the staged walkout by Vice President Mike Pence?), but he also noted that if he were an owner, he’d fire a player who kneeled right there on the spot.
But the NFL didn’t take itself off the president’s radar, in fact, it might’ve made the target bigger as Trump added Thursday that the new policy “doesn’t play.”
“That doesn’t play. It doesn’t play,” he said. “I actually think in many ways, it’s worse.”
Congratulations, NFL ...