President Donald Trump last Monday called Cowboys owner Jerry Jones four times pleading him to not kneel before the national anthem, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports.
Jones and the Cowboys locked arms and took a knee in unity before the national anthem ahead of Dallas’ game against the Arizona Cardinals. The team then stood with locked arms during the anthem.
The protest came before the nationally televised "Monday Night Football" game on ESPN and was a result of the firestorm created by Trump last week when he said NFL players should be fired for kneeling during the national anthem.
"Jerry Jones, before the Cowboys took the field on Monday night, was in the locker room, he got four separate calls from President Donald Trump imploring him, 'please do not have America's team kneel during the anthem,'" Rapoport said.
A record 180 NFL players last week knelt or sat for the national anthem, but just 11 players did so this week in early NFL games.
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