President Trump announced his decision Monday night to cancel the scheduled White House visit by the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles; saying their fans “deserve better” after many of the players planned to boycott the event.
According to team officials, multiple Eagles opted to avoid the ceremony over the President’s support for a full-fledged ban on professional athletes “taking a knee” during the performance of the national anthem.
“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow,” Trump said in a written statement. “The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better. These fans are still invited to the White House to be part of a different type of ceremony — one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the National Anthem.”
“The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House. Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!” tweeted the President shortly after his decision.
The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House. Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018
BAD APPLE: Bill De Blasio Trashes NFL’s ‘UN-AMERICAN’ Protest Ban
Hyper-liberal New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio predictably blasted the National Football League’s new rules regarding player protests Friday, calling NFL’s decision to ban the demonstrations “un-American.”
De Blasio was speaking with MSNBC when he slammed the owners’ unanimous decision to require all athletes to stand for the US national anthem or remain in the locker room, saying “it doesn’t make any sense.”
“Un-American. Just plain un-American,” said the Big Apple Mayor.
“It doesn’t make sense. You know, we would not tolerate it if any other employer said that their employees cannot express their beliefs. You know, right away you’d say violation of the First Amendment,” he added.
“I don’t understand why the owners think they can get away from this in any way, shape or form. But what they’re doing ultimately is simply bringing more attention to the cause of players, who are saying there’s an injustice that has to be addressed,” he concluded.
The President praised the NFL’s decision this week, saying they “did the right thing” and will hopefully regain fans lost during their disastrous 2017 season.
END ZONE: NFL Posts DISASTROUS RATINGS for 2017 Season
The embattled National Football League released its official viewership ratings for its disastrous 2017 season on Thursday, posting double-digit losses from last year’s totals across the board.
The NFL has been struggling to appease furious fans and American patriots as professional athletes continue their months-long protest during the performance of the national anthem
According to USA Today, the average audience numbers across the entire spectrum of NFL’s broadcast networks –NBC, CBS, Fox, ESPN, and their private streaming outlet- fell by a stunning 10% from last year’s totals. Even worse, the ratings for the 2016 season were also down a stunning 8% from 2015.
“NFL broadcasts had an average minute audience of 14.9 million compared to 16.5 million in 2016. CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN had a smaller audience than 2016,” writes USA Today. “ESPN, which included its streaming audience, had the lowest drop among the four networks at a 7.7% decline. Fox had a 9.1% drop, NBC dipped 10.4% and CBS fell 11.2% compared to 2016.”
The NFL has been struggling to appease furious fans and American patriots as professional athletes continue their months-long protest during the performance of the national anthem.
President Trump thrust the issue into the national spotlight last year, when he called for a national boycott of the league until owners and officials amend the rules to require players to stand during the ‘Star-Spangled Banner.’