Jeffrey Lurie Calls on Football to Be Our “Great Unifier”
Photo by: Jeff Fusco
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie responded to Donald Trump’s recent comments on NFL players protesting the national anthem by calling on the world’s most-attended sports league to serve as a rallying point for unity in this fractured time for our country.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 24, 2017
Trump spoke at a rally in Alabama on Friday in support of Republican Sen. Luther Strange, where he went off the path of politics and took aim at football players protesting the national anthem, as well as the owners who continue to employ them. “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired. He’s fired!” an impassioned Trump croaked.
You can check out more of The Donald’s seemingly off-the-cuff remarks here:
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had this to say:
“The NFL and our players are at our best when we help create a sense of unity in our country and our culture. There is no better example than the amazing response from our clubs and players to the terrible natural disasters we’ve experienced over the last month. Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities.”
On Sunday, Eagles players stood side-by-side with coaches and front office members during “The Star-Spangled Banner” and locked arms as a sign of unity. Several teams across the league responded in kind to Trump’s comments.
“For me personally, this has been over the last year,” Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins told reporters when asked his thoughts on Trump’s comments following the Birds’ 27-24 win over the Giants on Sunday. “It is nothing different than what I read on social media posts and comments. I think those who have not been involved felt more pressure to get involved at this point. My focus is to continue to bring attention to the issues that we have in this country, specifically what we have in Philadelphia, and how I can use my platform to help in those issues and really strengthen our communities.”
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