Trump Hopes the NFL Season Does Not Open If They ‘Don’t Stand for the National Anthem’

President Donald Trump is telling the NFL not to bother with kicking off the season if its players are going to kneel for the national anthem.

 During a Tuesday morning interview with Fox Sports Radio and founder of Outkick, host Clay Travis asked Trump how confident he is the opener between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs will still be held on September 10.

“Well, they want to open, and they want to open badly, and they’ve been working with government,” Trump said.

He added, “I would say this if they don’t stand for the national anthem, I hope they don’t open. But other than that, I’d love to see them open, and we’re doing everything possible for getting them open, and they can protest in other ways. They shouldn’t protest our flag or our country.”

Travis asked Trump if he has talked to any owners of the teams about the players standing for the national anthem.

“They know my feelings very well. They’ve been expressed,” Trump said.

Trump noted ratings for the NBA have dropped.

He said there was a “nastiness” about the way the NBA kneeled for the national anthem.

Listen to Trump’s remarks below:

Trump reiterated players need to stand in respect to the American flag.

“You have to stand for your flag and you have to respect your flag and country. You’re making millions of dollars a year to be playing a sport you’d be playing anyway if you didn’t make… they’d be playing it on the weekends,” Trump said.

He added, “They have to respect their country, and if they don’t, frankly, if the NFL didn’t open, I’d be very happy. If they don’t stand for the flag and stand strongly, I would be very happy if they didn’t open.”

Protests calling for the end to racism and police brutality erupted after news of the death of George Floyd, a Black man in police custody in Minneapolis in May, spread.