The open war of Donald Trump vs. NBA and NFL

The era of Donald Trump at the desk in the Oval Office, which could end or be extended on November 3, has politicized every aspect of the ‘american way of life’. Its rhetoric, its methods, its ways find support and resistance, in similar degrees, throughout the American Union. Sport, always susceptible to falling into politicizing tentacles, succumbed to the Trump-tsunami almost from the beginning of his term. The president’s speech often collides head-on with freedom and the text of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. A war on tweets and microphones broke out four years ago. And it continues. The unstoppable force against the immovable object.

And it is in sports that Trump has found some of his fiercest opponents.. The president’s policies and speech are echoed by the American sports elite, who have described them as racist and divisive, to say the least. The slogans of Trump, who often presents himself as the president of ‘law and order’, which is shocking in a country suffering from police abuse, and who commonly appeals to ultra-nationalism as an element of political discourse, conflicts with the values ​​of a motley and diverse society represented in professional leagues. The history of disagreements between the two parties dates from the first days of the administration: Loul Deng and LeBron James criticized the first presidential order to veto the entry into the country of immigrants from seven Muslim nations, decreed in January 2017. Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich, coaches of the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, respectively, they then railed against the president: “conceited” and “shameful” were some of the adjectives used.

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Freedom of expression or respect for the anthem?

A central point of the Trump-sport conflict lies in the protests against police abuse. In March 2016, Trump for the first time referred to the position of Colin Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, unemployed since he chose to kneel during the interpretation of the American anthem, in protest of the violence of security agents. against African American citizens. “People like when the flag is respected”, claimed. The winds were blowing. For the president, the protest was not justified. Soon, Trump turned Kaepernick’s gesture into a national discussion about nationalism and respect for national symbols when the intention of the QB was different: to denounce the prevailing racism in the actions of the police forces.

On September 24, 2017, the arms of the hurricane made landfall. During a rally in Alabama, Trump unloaded verbal artillery against the players and the owners of the league for “tolerating” the “disrespect” of the gadgets of the American country (flag, anthems) and the investiture of the forces of order: “Wouldn’t you like to see NFL owners say ‘get that son of a bitch off the field’?” Yes, “sons of bitches” was the vocabulary used by the President of the United States. The outbreak opened a storm of tweets (13 in a week) in which Trump called on the American people to boycott the NFL. In addition, he urged the owners to fire, or, failing that, suspend the unruly assets. In the race, he took the opportunity to disparage the league in its entirety: its television audience levels, Goodell’s ‘poor’ leadership, and even the excess of punishments and yellow scarves during games. Everything was a target for Trump. The gun was still smoking and there was still ammunition left.

The NFL’s response was dubious. There was no consensus. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell dismissed the ordeal Trump: “The NFL and our players create a sense of unity in our country and our culture. There is no better example than the great response of our clubs and players to the natural disasters we experienced last month (Hurricanes Harvey and Irma),” sentenced. The center of attention was the Ravers-Jaguars of week 3 of the 2017 season, played in London, at the legendary Wembley. Players from both teams challenged the president and dropped to the ground as the chords of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ played. A full revolution. The Pittsburgh Steelers, except the tackle offensive Alejandro Villanueva, chose to stay in the locker room during the ceremony prior to their meeting against the Bears. Later, the Spaniard apologized for breaking the discipline of coach Mike Tomlin. Finally, the Dallas Cowboys, arms entwined in an iconic postcard joined by owner Jerry Jones, also knelt, but rose to their feet as soon as the march replay began. Trump praised and roused Texans in the same tweet. Storm.

Then the hurricane-force winds died down. Trump praised the NHL and NASCAR for their ‘respecting’ national symbols in the days after the NFL-revolution. On October 8, Mike Pence, present during the Colts-49ers to pay tribute to Peyton Manning, left Lucas Oil Stadium when twelve players knelt during ‘The Star …’. “I will not dignify an event that does not respect our soldiers, our flag and our anthem”the vice president tweeted. Since then, the protests have turned on the fringes and Trump has devoted his tweeting rants to North Korea, Russia and how his tenure has boosted record numbers on Wall Street. And a more extensive (and no less controversial) variety of topics.

Until mid-2020, nothing had substantially changed. The NFL had not found homogeneity in its joint conduct, police abuse continues and Colin Kaepernick remains unemployed. It wasn’t until the national protests triggered by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis by a white police officer that the issue returned to the public agenda. And now, with Trump’s ‘approval’. Although the president did not stop censoring the ‘mistreatment’ of national symbols and even threatened to stifle citizen demonstrations with the help of the Armed Forces, his speech softened. Last June, Trump, who had vilified Kaepernick numerous times, spoke out in favor of his reinstatement in the NFL. “If he has the ability to play. He started very well and then did not finish very well, in terms of player (…) I would love to see them give him another chance, but obviously he has to be able to play well.” In parallel, and in response to proclamations of social and racial justice, the federal government initiated a series of reforms to the police system aimed at providing greater training to officers and providing citizens with more transparency tools to report future abuses of authority. .

“The NBA is a political organization”

The highest basketball league on the planet took a clear stance on police violence after Floyd’s death. The verdict was direct: repudiation of any form of discrimination and racial violence from the structures of the State; human dignity is worth more than a flag and a musical theme. The position was resounding, institutional and official, encouraged from the same office of the commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver. The Association turned its post-lockdown revival matches in Orlando’s ‘bubble’ into an ongoing collective ‘statement’. The players, coaches and technical staff of all the clubs wore t-shirts that read vindictive legends (‘Black Lives Matter’, ‘Vote’, ‘Stop Racism’, etc.), they knelt in the reproduction of the American anthem in almost every matches and they even threatened to boycott the post-season after a new police altercation: the one suffered by Jacob Blake, an African-American living in Wisconsin, who was shot at point-blank range in the back while returning to his car after an inspection.

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The NBA canceled all activity for two days after the Milwaukee Bucks refused to appear for Game 5 of the first round of playoffs, against the Orlando Magic. “Either things change, or we don’t play again,” was the demand. The basketball union, led by Chris Paul, negotiated more immersion of the teams in political activities: its stadiums and facilities will be enabled as voting centers and a project will be created in conjunction with the authorities to strengthen civility and the notion of justice from sports. Silver supported the claims of the players: “I can see and understand the trauma and fear that racial violence causes and how it continues with a painful legacy of inequity. prevailing in our country. I understand that they feel the league could do more. I listen to you and hope you know that I am focused on ensuring that, as a league, we will effect real change, both as an organization and in communities across the country. “, he assured during the crisis of last August.

NBA activism has not fared well in the White House. “When I see people kneeling during the game and disrespecting our flag and our national anthem, what I do is pay for television,” Trump said in words to Fox News a week after the Bucks left. “It is a Marxist group that does not seek good things for our country,” he added. The avalanche of statements against the NBA was only beginning and LeBron James became his preferred target: “He’s a spokesman for the Democratic Party, a very nasty spokesman. I’ve accomplished a lot for the African-American community and people don’t want to see him. He’s a great basketball player, but people don’t want to see someone like him doing those things. an enemy”, sentenced the president on the eve of the NBA Finals. Of course, Trump wasn’t enthusiastic about the defining series: “The NBA has gotten so political that no one cares anymore. I don’t even know which teams are in the Finals.”

Trump has also attacked the NBA with his ratings. “The audience for the NBA Finals finally fell almost 70%, it was beat by any Sunday Night Football (NFL). Maybe they saw it in China, but I doubt it. Zero interest!” He tweeted on October 12. But LeBron has hit back. Before the first game of the last tie of the season, against the Miami Heat, ‘El Rey’ came to the court crowned by a red cap, similar to those used by Trump supporters, but with a different text: instead of ‘ Make America Great Again, ‘it said,’ Have the US arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor. ” During the last presidential debate, held on October 22, the Lakers player uploaded a photo to his Instagram account, in which he posted a emoji of clown on the face of the president.

The war could end on November 3. Or open four more years of hostilities.