Trump calls NFL players who kneel sons of bitches, demands owners fire them

At a campaign rally in Huntsville, Alabama on September 22, 2017, President Trump called NFL players who knelt during the national anthem to protest racial injustice "sons of bitches" and demanded NFL team owners fire them: "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He's fired.' He's fired!" The speech triggered an extraordinary wave of solidarity among players: the next Sunday, more than 200 NFL players knelt, sat, or remained in the locker room during the anthem. Trump's remarks signaled that political protests by Black athletes would be met with presidential condemnation. Colin Kaepernick, who began the protest in 2016 to highlight police killings of Black Americans, has never played in the NFL again.