New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been one of the NFL's more notable supporters of President Donald Trump, but even Kraft has expressed concerns about Trumps comments from Friday.
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Kraft released this statement on Sunday morning.
I am deeply disappointed by the tone of the comments by the President on Friday. I am proud to be associated with so many players who make such tremendous contribution in positively impacting our communities. Their efforts, both on and off the field, help bring people together and make our community strong. There is no greater unifier in this country than sports, and unfortunately, nothing more divisive than politics. 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.
This comes after Trump started some controversy on Friday evening, commenting on the anthem protests by saying that NFL owners should respond to the player protests with the phrase "get that son of a bitch off the field."
Wouldn't you love one of these NFL owners... when someone disrespects our flag say, "Get that son of a bitch off the field, right now, out, he's fired."
The President has not been shy with his comments, as he doubled down on Saturday amid another battle he waged with the NBA's Golden State Warriors and former MVP Steph Curry. Curry had said that he had no intentions of doing the traditional White House visit, to which Trump responded by saying that Curry's invitation had been rescinded. The Warriors announced later in the day that the whole team would not be taking the trip after the President's comments.
For the two battles, Trump has drawn criticism far and wide, including from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and former NBA MVPs LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. NBA commissioner Adam Silver also released a statement, expressing his disappointment that Trump and the Warriors were unable to put aside their differences and reach a resolution.
