President Trump was on Long Island Wednesday, but he seemed to have a spot in the NFL owners’ meetings in Atlanta.
After the league announced it had changed its national anthem policy, which will fine teams whose players do not stand for it, owners admitted that Trump played a significant factor in their decision making.
“Oh yeah,” Packers president Mark Murphy said, laughing, when asked by the MMQB if Trump came up in discussions. “It was more how [Trump] might react, anticipating that. Also, how the fans will react, how the media will react.
“That’s what we tried to think through. … No matter what we did, [Trump] would probably try to get involved one way or the other—either criticizing us or taking credit for the change.”
Murphy was spot on in that prediction, as Trump lauded the decision Thursday morning.
“I brought it out. I think the people pushed it forward,” Trump said on Fox & Friends.
Trump mostly approved of the new rule.
“I don’t think people should be staying in locker rooms. But still I think it’s good,” he said. “You have to stand proudly for the National Anthem.You shouldn’t be playing, you shouldn’t be there. Maybe they shouldn’t be in the country.”
One owner said Trump’s name came up three times, though never for an extended time, before the vote passed unanimously.
“[Trump] certainly initiated some of the thinking, and was a part of the entire picture,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the website. “But all of that was given consideration.”
Trump had been vocal about players kneeling to protest social injustices. That included last fall when he launched his role in the controversy, describing kneeling players as “sons of bitches” who should be fired.
Multiple owners have donated money to Trump, including Jones, the Patriots’ Robert Kraft, Redskins’ Dan Snyder, Jaguars’ Shad Khan, Texans’ Bob McNair, Rams’ Stan Kroenke, Browns’ Jimmy Haslam, Buccaneers’ Edward Glazer, and then-Jets owner Woody Johnson.
The NFLPA said they were not consulted on the new policy before the owners voted on it.