President Donald Trump said Thursday that Americans were getting tired of the growing political tone of the National Basketball Association, leading to poor ratings.
“I don’t know much about the NBA protests,” Trump said. “I know their ratings have been very bad, because I think people are a little tired of the NBA frankly.”
Trump commented during a visit to FEMA’s headquarters in Washington, DC, on Thursday afternoon for an update on the response to Hurricane Laura.
The president was asked about the NBA player protests after players boycotted their playoff games Tuesday night in the name of racial justice.
“They’ve become like a political organization, and that’s not a good thing,” Trump said. “I don’t think that’s a good thing for sports or the country.”
Reports note that NBA playoff ratings are down 20 percent from the 2019 season as basketball superstar LeBron James has led player protests of police shootings of black people.
Even during the regular season, ratings for the games were down as players donned Black Lives Matter attire and took a knee for the national anthem.
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