While doing the usual address of his grievances on Twitter, Donald Trump again set his sights on the NFL and player protests. The president expressed his outrage at the NFL for not forcing players to stand during the national anthem, calling it a "total disrespect for our great country."
Trump has been very vocal about wanting the players to stop kneeling during the national anthem, a demonstration started by Colin Kaepernick to protest against racism, oppression, and police brutality against black people. Trump and other detractors have turned the protests into disrespect against the flag and the military. Trump has repeatedly demanded that the players stand, and called for those who don't to be fired.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell along with several NFL owners and members of the NFLPA held a league meeting. Among the topics discussed were the player protests. There were reports that Goodell would try to implement a rule forcing the players to stand. Goodell, however, did not put such a rule in place. He did say that all the clubs feel that the players should stand, but said "we have about 6 or 7 players involved in this protest at this point," when asked why they didn't make it an official rule.
Goodell along with the NFLPA says the league will work together with the players to address the underlying social issues they feel are important in their communities, which sparked the protests. Goodell says the NFL is working to get the number of players protesting "down to zero."
