The Presidency isn’t the first respected American institution that Donald Trump has destroyed. In fact, he continues to pull his celebrity blanket over the heads of surprisingly unintelligent Americans who voted for him and then bought into his reality TV attack on NFL owners, players and anyone in the world of sports who doesnt stand for the anthem.
Trump has hidden his true plan, which is a vicious, personal, vengeful attack on the NFL, with this disingenuous rhetoric about being disrespectful to the flag and the country.
Remember when he said, I wish NFL owners would respect the flag.
What this chameleon truly meant was I wish NFL owners would respect me.
And through creating this “us” against them “mentality” (the specific players change daily but there’s always an adversarial twist) and feeding into the racism, political division and overall ignorance that persists in our country, Trump has convinced some of the general public that NFL protests are disrespectful to Americans and anyone – including the football owners with whom he has a long history of turmoil with – that supports any sort of national anthem protest by people of color are communists.
Trump’s latest attack on the NFL came via Twitter in the aftermath of a meeting the owners and players had this week to discuss the issues surrounding the silent protests, most specifically standing for the national anthem. Trump reacted to the announcement that players can continue to kneel or sit, a demonstration that was begun by Colin Kaepernick in the summer of 2016 to raise awareness of police brutality, oppression and social injustice.
Donald J. Trump on Twitter
The NFL has decided that it will not force players to stand for the playing of our National Anthem. Total disrespect for our great country!
People who actually do research and study real news know that this entire national anthem controversy is a ruse marvelously executed by the President to take the attention off of his failures and the social issues driving the protests and place the burden on journalists, NFL owners, players, political activists, social freedom fighters, major news outlets and corporations who didnt succumb to his dirty economic politics in the past.
Trump has a long history of tumultuous relations with the NFL, and over that time he has repeatedly grown more frustrated with the way the league has checked his cocky persona and crass demeanor.
Back in 1983, Trump owned the USFL team, the New Jersey Generals. Trump helped to start a pro league that was to compete with the NFL. At the time, the league was gaining in popularity, playing in the NFL offseason and had some elite talent, even a few Heisman winners.
Trump, a young real estate mogul at the time, was very adamant about the league moving to the Fall and becoming direct competition for the NFL. As usual, Trump got his way and it spelled doom for the USFL which ended up suing the NFL, accusing the league of holding an illegal monopoly on fall football and attempting to strangle the USFL out of business.
The USFL was ruined when Trump sued the NFL
“Indentured” author and New York Times writer Joe Nocera spoke to us about the short lived United States Football League (USFL) and Donald Trump’s involvement in its demise. ————————————————– Follow BI Video on Twitter: http://bit.ly/1oS68Zs Follow BI on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1W9Lk0n Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/ ————————————————– Business Insider is the fastest growing business news site in the US.
Despite winning a court battle, the USFL was awarded just $3 and the league was a wrap by 1986 after just three seasons. Trump is credited with hastening the demise of the USFL. How Donald Trump Destroyed A Football Leaguewas the headline of a piece published by Esquire in 2016.
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross knows Trump all too well and has seen Trumps destructive and toxic personality up close as both were owners of USFL franchises. Ross responded to Trumps attacks against NFL owners by saying, the country “needs more unifying leadership.”
It was a straight knock on a guy who wrecked the USFL by prematurely trying to go head up with the NFL. That was Trumps first encounter with NFL owners and the first grudge he would come to hold against them.
As President, Trump has used his Twitter account to take constant jabs at the NFL and degrade the league, its players and owners.
There was his nonsensical criticizing of a rule change aimed at making the game safer for players, Trump declared in a 2013 post that it was “the beginning of the end” for the NFL. He also aired complaints about referees “destroying” the game by “slowing down the fun.”
The blow to Trump’s ego that made it his mission to kick the NFL every chance he got was when he tried to purchase a team back in 2014.
Trump is as contradicting and hypocritical as any President ever, but he was the same way as a slumlord and capitalist on the way up the ladder. The kid from Queens is always setting his sights on bigger and better things, so it wasnt surprising that after years of bashing the NFL he decided to attempt to buy a team.
After all, its all about the show for this guy. But when Trump put in a bid to buy the Buffalo Bills, the owners told him to go fly a kite.
“I bid a billion dollars, all cash on the table. [business magnate Terrence Pegula] bought it for a billion-two, I believe, although they say it was a billion-four. I think he got it for a billiontwo,” Trump told one publication.
Trump went on several Twitter rants bashing the NFL and his hate towards the NFL and its corporate executives just grew. If theres anybody that doesn’t like being excluded from something, its Trump.
Donald J. Trump on Twitter
Even though I refused to pay a ridiculous price for the Buffalo Bills, I would have produced a winner. Now that won’t happen.
He continues to take shots at the NFL and by misdirecting the meaning and impact of the protest and using lies, rhetoric, hate and threats against the NFL to push his dual agenda of not having to worry about players of color making social statements and sticking it to the NFL by brainwashing Americans into buying into his bs, hes got everyone running in circles, playing the puppet and keeping his head out of the gauntlet.
