NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the sports world reacting to President Donald Trump’s remarks about pro football (all times Eastern):
3:50 p.m.
The Tennessee Titans are joining the Seattle Seahawks in deciding not to come out for the national anthem.
The Seahawks announced nearly 30 minutes before kickoff that they would not stand for the national anthem because they “will not stand for the injustice that has plagued people of color in this country.”
The Titans followed 10 minutes later by saying they will remain in the locker room during the national anthem. They posted a statement on their website noting they want to be unified as a team with the players deciding jointly that staying inside was the best course of action.
The team also said their commitment to the military and community is “resolute” and that “the absence of our team for the national anthem shouldn’t be misconstrued as unpatriotic.”
Seattle has been one of the more outspoken teams in professional sports on social issues, led by Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman and Doug Baldwin.
— AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker reported from Nashville, Tennessee
___
3:40 p.m.
The Los Angeles Sparks did not participate in the national anthem before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, joining a long list of protests being conducted on football fields across the NFL.
Moments before the Sparks and Minnesota Lynx were scheduled to line up for the national anthem, the Sparks left the floor. The Lynx stood arm-in-arm with each other while the anthem was performed. As soon as it was finished, the Sparks re-entered Williams Arena to a chorus of boos.
The gesture comes in solidarity with NFL players who either sat, took a knee or did not take the field for the anthem after President Donald Trump criticized football players for enacting such protests. At least 130 players were kneeling or sitting during the first NFL games.
— AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski reported from Minneapolis
___
2:55 p.m.
It appeared no drivers, crew or other team members participated in a protest during the national anthem to start the NASCAR Cup series race Sunday in Loudon, New Hampshire. Several team owners and executives had said they wouldn’t want anyone in their organizations to protest.
Richard Childress, who was Dale Earnhardt’s longtime team owner, said of protesting, “It’ll get you a ride on a Greyhound bus.” Childress says he told his team that “anybody that works for me should respect the country we live in. So many people gave their lives for it. This is America.”
Hall of Fame driver Richard Petty’s sentiments took it a step further, saying: “Anybody that don’t stand up for the anthem oughta be out of the country. Period. What got ’em where they’re at? The United States.”
When asked if a protester at Richard Petty Motorsports would be fired, he said, “You’re right.”
Another team owner Chip Ganassi says he supports Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s comments. Tomlin said before the Steelers played on Sunday that players would remain in the locker room and that “we’re not going to let divisive times or divisive individuals affect our agenda.”
___
1 p.m.
NFL players used the national anthem to show their defiance to President Donald Trump’s criticism, with at least 100 players kneeling or sitting in protest and one team staying in the locker room.
Most teams in the early afternoon games locked arms in solidarity. At least three team owners joined their players.
More than 100 players sat or knelt, the form of protest started last season by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick is now a free agent, and supporters believe teams have avoided signing him because of his protest.
The Pittsburgh Steelers remained in the locker room as the national anthem played before their game with the Chicago Bears. Coach Mike Tomlin stood by himself on the sideline.
How each team would observe the national anthem emerged as the center of attention on this NFL Sunday in the wake of Trump’s critical remarks toward players who don’t stand for the anthem.
Tomlin had said before the game that Pittsburgh’s players would remain in the locker room and that “we’re not going to let divisive times or divisive individuals affect our agenda.” Tomlin added that the Steelers made this choice “not to be disrespectful to the anthem but to remove ourselves from this circumstance. People shouldn’t have to choose.”
___
12:40 p.m.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a tweet that the league will re-air a unity television advertisement Sunday night that it first ran during February’s Super Bowl.
The one-minute spot called “Inside These Lines,” will be shown during the Sunday night game between the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins.
Over images and video of NFL players embracing one another on the field, the narrator says “Inside these lines, we don’t have to come from the same place to help each other reach the same destination.”
Goodell said that President’s Trump’s remarks about the NFL demonstrated “an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL.”
___
12:12 p.m.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have decided to stay in their locker room for the national anthem before their game against the Chicago Bears, coach Mike Tomlin has told CBS.
The move was apparently in reaction to President Donald Trump’s suggestion that NFL owners fire players who kneel for the national anthem.
Several players from the Jaguars and Ravens decided to kneel in the first NFL game of the day in London. Then Tomlin said his players would not be on the sideline at Soldier Field in Chicago for the anthem.
— AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen reported from Chicago
___
12:13 p.m.
Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagilabue called President Donald Trump’s comments on NFL players “insulting and disgraceful.”
Tagliabue, who was in Charlotte, North Carolina, as a guest of Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, spoke to the media before Carolina’s game against the New Orleans Saints.
“For me to single out any particular group of players and call them SOB’s, to me, that is insulting and disgraceful,” Tagliabue said. “So I think the players deserve credit for what they do. And when it comes to speech they are entitled to speak. And we are entitled to listen. We are entitled to agree or disagree. But we’re not entitled to shut anybody’s speech down. Sometimes you don’t like what you hear and that is true in life in lots of contexts, but you can’t shut people down and be disgraceful when you are doing it.”
Richardson is not making a statement on the Trump’s remarks, per team spokesman Steven Drummond.
— AP Sports Writer Steve Reed reported from Charlotte, North Carolina
___
11:45 a.m.
A handful of Miami Dolphins players are wearing black T-shirts supporting free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick during pregame warm-ups.
The shirts have “#IMWITHKAP” written in bold white lettering on the front.
Kaepernick was the first athlete to refuse to stand during the national anthem as a protest. This season, no team has signed him, and some supporters believe NFL owners are avoiding him because of the controversy.
Among the players sporting the shirts before their game against the New York Jets are wide receiver Kenny Stills, running back Jay Ajayi and offensive linemen Laremy Tunsil and Ja’Wuan James. Stills, also a team captain, posted a photo on Twitter of himself wearing the shirt , along with the post: “In case you didn’t know!”
— AP Sports Writer Dennis Waszak reporting from East Rutherford, New Jersey
___
11:30 a.m.
Outside the Buffalo Bills’ New Era Field, fans were tailgating as normal with no signs of protests or indications of support.
Last season, vendors here sold anti-Colin Kaepernick jerseys — including one with him pictured in the crosshairs of a target — before the San Francisco 49ers game at Orchard Park on Oct. 16. Kaepernick was jeered once the game began.
Kaepernick was the first player to refuse to stand during the national anthem.
“If they do this as a whole team, I will want my money back as a season-ticket holder and I’ll never come back to a game again,” fan Mike Ragyna said when asked about the prospect of players protesting during the anthem.
“There’s no reason they can’t stand for the national anthem and get up on a soapbox afterward and do it then,” Ragyna said.
— AP Sports Writer John Wawrow reported from Orchard Park, New York
___
11:15 a.m.
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan calls it a privilege to stand arm-in-arm with players during the national anthem in London.
Khan stood between tight end Marcedes Lewis and linebacker Telvin Smith at Wembley Stadium and then released a statement to express his support for players. Coaches and other team personnel from both teams did the same before the game against the Ravens.
About two dozen players on both teams kneeled, something President Donald Trump has said owners should fire players for.
“It was a privilege to stand on the sidelines with the Jacksonville Jaguars today for the playing of the U.S. national anthem at Wembley Stadium,” Khan said. “I met with our team captains prior to the game to express my support for them, all NFL players and the league following the divisive and contentious remarks made by President Trump, and was honored to be arm in arm with them, their teammates and our coaches during our anthem.”
___
11:02 a.m.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is defending President Donald Trump’s attacks on football players who kneel during the national anthem.
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday morning, Mnuchin says the National Football League enforces other types of rules and Trump thinks “owners should have a rule that players should have to stand in respect for the national anthem.”
Mnuchin adds that “they can do free speech on their own time.”
Trump suggested during a speech Friday night that NFL owners should fire players who kneel during the national anthem. A handful of NFL players have refused to stand to protest several issues, including police brutality.
___
11:01 a.m.
The Pittsburgh Penguins say they’ve accepted an invitation from President Donald Trump to go to the White House after winning the Stanley Cup.
The Penguins released a statement Sunday saying they respect the office of the president and “the long tradition of championship teams visiting the White House.” The Penguins were honored by Barack Obama after winning the Stanley Cup in 2016 and previously by George H.W. Bush in the early 1990s.
“Any agreement or disagreement with a president’s politics, policies or agenda can be expressed in other ways. However, we very much respect the rights of other individuals and groups to express themselves as they see fit.”
Trump revoked the White House invitation to the NBA champion Golden State Warriors Saturday, after the team had said they might not accept.
—Stephen Whyno reporting from Washington
___
10:55 a.m.
A White House adviser says the president lashed out at NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem because he stands with Americans who want the anthem respected.
Marc Short is director of legislative affairs. He argues on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that President Donald Trump believes NFL players have First Amendment rights, but that owners should have the right to fire them.
Trump seemed to disinvite the NBA champion Golden State Warriors from the White House because of star Stephen Curry’s public opposition to him.
Asked why Trump is inflaming tensions, Short says the Warriors started it. He says players “were the ones that first went out … and began criticizing the president.”
___
10:15 a.m.
Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti says he “100 percent” supports his players’ decision to kneel during the national anthem ahead of Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley.
At least seven Ravens players and more than a dozen Jaguars players took a knee during the anthem while the rest of the players stood locked arm-in-arm in an apparent response to President Donald Trump, who said this week that NFL owners should fire those who disrespected the American flag.
But the Ravens issued a statement from Bisciotti minutes after kickoff, saying: “We recognize our players’ influence. We respect their demonstration and support them 100 percent. All voices need to be heard. That’s democracy in its highest form.”
Jaguars owner Shad Khan stood arm-in-arm with his players during the anthem.
___
9:30 a.m.
About two dozen players, including Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs and Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette, took a knee during the playing of the national anthem before the start of the teams’ game at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Other players on one knee during the performance included Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley, wide receiver Mike Wallace and safety Lardarius Webb as well as Jaguars linebacker Dante Fowler, defensive tackle Calais Campbell, defensive end Yannick Ngakoue and cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
Players on both teams and Jaguars owner Shad Khan, who were not kneeling, remained locked arm-in-arm throughout the playing of the national anthem and “God Save The Queen,” the national anthem of Britain.
No players were kneeling during the playing of the British national anthem.
President Donald Trump had a suggestion on Saturday for National Football League owners whose players decide to take a knee during the national anthem: fire them.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.