Stephen A. Smith once CLAIMED the NFL should be ‘afraid’ of Donald Trump because of his power amid U.S. national anthem kneeling protests

Former United States President Donald Trump once went to war with the NFL over the players and staff kneeling during national anthems. After the then-sitting President’s severe criticisms, the league imposed a rule back in 2018 that required players to stand respectfully on the field during the national anthem or they were given a choice to stay in the locker room if they didn’t want to stand. A few days after the new rule, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith warned the NFL that it should be afraid of Trump and his influence regarding such sensitive issues.

During a 2018 episode of First Take on ESPN, the show co-host Molly Qerim raised a question of whether the league should be afraid of then-United States President Donald Trump’s power and influence. The veteran analyst had his answer ready for this question.

“Yes, they should,” stated Stephen A. “The president, whether you like it or not, whether you like him or not, is the President of the United States of America. Over 62 million voted for this man. And when you have the power that he has and you have the influence he has, you have the ability to hijack an issue – like the Colin Kaepernick protest and turn it into something it was not about. Turn it into an issue of patriotism.”

The veteran analyst continued,“He successfully hijacked the issue, and he targeted the NFL, a group of owners, a cadre of individuals, a league that would not let him into their good old boys club, per se.”

Smith also went on to say that NFL should hope that Trump doesn’t complain again about the players sitting in the locker room instead of coming out for the national anthems. Kneeling was once a big issue in the NFL. It was started by the former San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick as a protest against police brutality and racial inequalities. It soon spread to many different sports across the entire planet.

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Donald Trump wanted to own an NFL team

When Stephen A. Smith said that “they would not let him into their good old boys club,” he meant that the NFL owners didn’t allow the billionaire businessman Donald Trump to own an NFL team. Trump has tried to buy a team in the NFL multiple teams.

Once he tried to buy the Dallas Cowboys but Jerry Jones eventually bought the America’s team. When Jones brought the Cowboys, Trump said Jones would regret buying the Dallas-based football team.

But what happened is quite the opposite. Trump reportedly also once wanted to buy the Buffalo Bills but wasn’t successful on that attempt either.

Despite his wealth and power, Trump was not able to fulfill his dream of owning an NFL franchise. He did own a professional football team as he became the owner of the USFL franchise New Jersey Generals but Trump’s ego led the whole league to shutdown back in 1986.

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