Donald Trump on Monday added Marshawn Lynch to the list of sports figures he has criticized on Twitter.
Lynch
has been regularly sitting during the national anthem this season and
did so again when his Raiders played the Patriots in Mexico City on
Sunday. Lynch then stood, though not at attention, during the playing of
the Mexican anthem.
Trump’s
first tweet of the day Monday took Lynch and the N.F.L. to task:
“Marshawn Lynch of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders stands for the Mexican
Anthem and sits down to boos for our National Anthem. Great disrespect!
Next time NFL should suspend him for remainder of season. Attendance and
ratings way down.”
Trump’s
tweet came at 6:25 a.m. on Monday. Shortly after 6, “Fox and Friends,” a
program that has prompted quite a few of Trump’s tweets, had broadcast a
report on Lynch’s actions.
Trump
has regularly criticized N.F.L. players for not standing for the anthem
this season. Generally though, he has avoided singling out players by
name.
“Two
dozen NFL players continue to kneel during the national anthem, showing
total disrespect to our Flag & Country. No leadership in NFL!” he
tweeted last month.
Vice President Mike Pence walked out of a Colts game before it started last month when some players did not stand for the anthemMarshawn Lynch of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders stands for the Mexican Anthem and sits down to boos for our National Anthem. Great disrespect! Next time NFL should suspend him for remainder of season. Attendance and ratings way down.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2017
Lynch
was seen wearing a T-shirt reading “Everybody vs. Trump” before a game
in October. On Sunday, he wore cleats with a Mexican flag theme.
Both
anthems were cheered at the game. Giant flags of both nations were
unfurled to the cheers of the crowd, which included a significant number
of Americans.
The
N.F.L. has said it prefers that players stand for the anthem but has
not taken any disciplinary action against those who choose not to.
On Sunday, Trump went after LaVar Ball,
the father of one of the U.C.L.A. players who were detained in China on
suspicion of shoplifting. Apparently angry that Ball had played down
Trump’s role in the players’ release, the president went so far as to
suggest that they should have been left in a Chinese prison.
“Now
that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years
in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I
did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. I should have left
them in jail!”
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