NFL doubles down on criticism of Trump's comments: 'This is what real locker room talk is'

pulse

September 25, 2017 5:15 PM

Numerous NFL teams protested the national anthem after President Donald Trump attacked the league during a Friday rally.

The NFL has once again responded to President Donald Trump's recent public criticisms, according to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe.

Volin on Monday quoted the NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart as saying, "Everyone should know, including the president, that this is what real locker room talk is."

Lockhart was praising the league's response to criticism from Trump over the weekend, with "locker room talk" an allusion to Trump's characterization of the way he talked about women in a 2005 recording that leaked late in last year's presidential campaign.

Teams responded in numerous ways as the national anthem played during games Sunday, with some players locking arms, other players kneeling, and some entire teams sitting out the anthem in the locker room.

Trump's crusade against the NFL began Friday when he spoke out against players who chose to kneel during the anthem in protest of racial and social inequality, saying: "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a b---- off the field right now, out — he's fired!'"

Trump continued his attacks over the weekend, complaining about the NFL's "total disrespect" and "boring games."

To go along with his criticisms of the protests, Trump also ripped the NFL's recent increase in safety measures designed to limit brain injuries. Trump said these increased precautions were "ruining the game."

Lockhart, who served as the White House press secretary under Bill Clinton, responded to that remark too.

"We fundamentally could not disagree more," he said, according to The Globe. "These comments represent someone who's out of touch."

While the conflict between Trump and the NFL has been ongoing since Friday, Lockhart said the league had not had direct contact with the president.

"If the president wants to engage in something that's productive, he has our number," Lockhart said.

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