NFL owners, players lock arms for anthems amid Trump’s criticism

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — They were memorable images bookending a day around the NFL that will remain memorable – for nothing to do with football itself.

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Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan locked arms with players as “The Star-Spangled Banner” was performed before the first game of the morning Sunday in London. Eleven hours later, Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder did the same before the last game of the night not too far from the White House. It was a symbolic gesture by two of the very men called upon by President Donald Trump to punish NFLers for making any sort of Colin Kaepernick-esque statement during the national anthem.

Redskins cornerback Josh Norman, one of the players at Snyder’s side Sunday, told a national television audience via NBC’s broadcast of Washington’s 27-10 victory over the Oakland Raiders that it was “one demonstration I feel, just, we had to do, just because of the tyranny that we face.”

“It’s sad that we have to go through stuff like that,” Norman said, “but at the end of the day, (if) we unite as one, nobody’s going to divide us.”

In the locker room later, Norman said Trump is “not welcome here in Washington” and that the president’s remarks in the preceding 48 hours amounted to “taking on 1,800 men” — roughly the number of NFL players.

After Trump drew sports into politics in an unprecedented manner, more than 200 players knelt or sat on a bench or raised a fist or, in the case of most of the Pittsburgh Steelers , remained indoors as national anthems echoed through stadiums. A week ago, a half-dozen players took a stance.

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Some spectators applauded the moves, while others booed.

And Norman was hardly the only one offering opinions about the president.

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, for example, said the country needs “a little bit more wisdom in that office.”

Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller referred to Trump’s recent words as “an assault on our most cherished right, freedom of speech.”

Trump took to Twitter Monday morning to further his opinion of those who kneel during the anthem.

This was, all in all, an unusual day for the NFL, one when the most significant discussion about the nation’s most popular sport had nothing to do with concussions or a late TD catch or a blocked kick.

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