Gridiron fans across the city didn’t
heed President Donald Trump’s call for a ban on watching football as they
huddled into bars or hopped trains to The Meadowlands to catch the Jets game.
Trump continued his tirade against NFL
players who protest during the national anthem with an early Sunday morning
tweet saying fans should refuse to go to games until players “stop
disrespecting our Flag & Country,” adding, “Fire or suspend!”
That comes on the heels of his
explosive comments to a crowd in Alabama on Friday suggesting team owners
should say, “Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired,”
to any player who kneels as a sign of protest.
Hell’s Kitchen resident Tommy Walsh,
22, said he doesn’t agree with the protest but he also doesn’t agree with
Trump’s involvement.
“I think he’s right, but he should mind
his business,” said Walsh from an area sports bar, adding he feels kneeling for
the national anthem is “anti-American.”
“They
definitely have a choice, everybody has a choice,” Walsh said about the
players. “If your boss tells you you should act a certain way at work, you
shouldn’t complain. There’s a time and a place to do it.”
Aaron
Clark, a 45-year-old teacher from Queens, thought it was “awesome to be in a
country where they have the right to protest.”
“The
Constitution grants the right to peacefully protest and they’re exercising that
right,” he said while watching football at a local bar.
“I think
it’s suppressing free speech,” said Chris Hecker, 27, of Merrick, as he waited
with friends at Penn Station for a train to the Jets game. “I’m sure a lot of
other people are not going to boycott the NFL.”
Even
some of Trump’s friends and supporters in the football world rejected his
comments on Sunday with a strong show of unity.
New
England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady locked arms with his teammates during
the national anthem, while several others went down on one knee. Robert Kraft,
the owner of the team and a friend of Trump, said he was disappointed by the
tone of his comments.
“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,” Kraft said in a statement released on
Twitter.
New York
Jets CEO Christopher Johnson also stood arm in arm with his players on the
field before Sunday’s game.
“It was
an honor and a privilege to stand arm-in-arm unified with our players during
today’s national anthem,” he said in a statement. “We are very proud of our
players and their strong commitment to work in our community to make a
positive, constructive and unifying impact.”
Football
fan Mohsin Syed, 39, said at first he was put off by Colin Kaepernick’s
decision to kneel during the national anthem last season as a form of protest
against police violence and the oppression of African-Americans.
“I do
now kind of understand,” said Syed, who works in technology investment and
splits his time between the United States and India. “The president of the
country, the leader of the country coming and swearing — that’s not an America
I want to come to.”
Gov.
Andrew Cuomo referenced the debate while announcing a relief effort for
hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.
“And
look, to our colleagues in our federal government, I humbly suggest that at
this time, instead of arguing with football players, instead of obsessing with
how to take health care from the poor in this country, why don’t we put the
politics aside and focus on helping Americans in desperate need,” Cuomo said.
Later in
the day, Trump sent out another tweet many people found puzzling in the wake of
protests at many football games.
“Great
solidarity for our National Anthem and for our Country,” he tweeted. “Standing
with locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable.”
Body language expert Patti Wood said locking arms,
historically, is viewed as a wall against oppression.
“It shows solidarity,” said Wood, author of “Snap:
Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma.”
“They are locking arms against oppression,” she
said. “This shows [Trump] doesn’t get what that means. He would represent the
status they are trying to change.”
Wood also said when players drop to one knee in
protest, it is a deliberate show of nonviolence, and hearkens back to the
posture of knights.
“They are not raising a fist,” she said. “They see
what is happening and they want to show they are different. It’s very strong.”
Patti Wood, MA - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at
www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at
www.snapfirstimpressions.com.
