Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee took a knee as Congress started sensing the political drift of President Donald Trump’s roasting of the NFL, served with pinkslips for unpatriotic players, The Washington Post reported, and she was joined at the table by Rep. John Lewis, a fellow Congressional Black Caucus member.
Jackson Lee, who represents central Houston, spoke out against Trump in an impassioned speech on Monday night for comments at his rally in Huntsville, Alabama on Friday.
At the rally, Trump voiced his opinion on NFL players who kneel during the national anthem before the start of a game.
“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!’ ” Trump is widely quoted as saying.
It reportedly was met with cheers from the rally crowd.
During the day’s special order of the Congressional Black Caucus, Jackson Lee condemned Trump’s remarks.
“There is no basis in the First Amendment that says you cannot kneel on the national anthem or in front of the flag. That is racism. You cannot deny it, you cannot run for it.” Jackson Lee said, before dropping to one knee, the Huffington Post reported.
Jackson Lee made it clear she was standing by NFL players like those who, according to The New York Times, knelt and locked hands during the national anthem on Sunday in response to Trump’s attack on the NFL players and their league.
Jackson Lee’s comments got a series of solidarity Tweets from Lewis.
The players began kneeling during the 2016 pre-season to protest the treatment of African Americans by police officers, the HuffPost said, and it said although he was not referenced by name, Trump’s rally remarks were supposed to be an attack on Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49er who was the first to kneel during “The Star-Spangled Banner” before NFL games.
Trump’s comments against the NFL sparked outrage on that always more entertaining side of social media.
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