As COVID-19 cases continue to increase throughout the country, President Donald Trump is apparently off prioritizing racist dog whistles. He could be heard in an interview Tuesday morning on Fox Sports Radio’s “Outkick the Coverage with Clay Travis,” describing what he deemed “nastiness” in the NBA while praising ice hockey players for respecting “the mores.”
The president’s words followed a renewed interest in supporting athletes taking a stand against racism and police brutality in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death May 25. Floyd, a Black man, died in police custody after an officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes. Since then, the NBA has held true to its promise to print "Black Lives Matter" on the game court used since the professional sport reopened in a restricted “bubble” in Orlando. Players, supported by NBA personnel, were also allowed to kneel during the national anthem and to have a phrase of their choosing printed on the back of their jerseys. The actions in support of the Black Lives Matter movement obviously didn’t sit well with the commander in chief.
“And there was a nastiness about the NBA the way it was done too. So I think that the NBA’s in trouble,” Trump said. “I think it’s in big trouble, bigger trouble than they understand, and frankly ice hockey, which is doing very well, they didn’t do that. They respected the mores. They respected what they’re supposed to be doing, and they’re actually doing very well as I understand it.”
Changing gears to answer a question about the likelihood that the NFL reopens Sept. 10 as planned, Trump said the league wants to "open badly" and has been working with the government. "I would say this, if they don't stand for the national anthem, I hope they don't open, but other than that I’d love to see them open,” he said. “And we’re doing everything possible for getting them open. They can protest in other ways. They shouldn't protest our flag or our country.”
Following nationwide protests regarding Floyd’s death, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell vowed to allow players to peacefully protest even though years earlier free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick was all but banned from the league for kneeling during the national anthem to protest racism and police brutality. “We were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest," Goodell has since said, earning condemnation from the president.
Trump doubled down on criticism of Black Lives Matter support during his recent Fox Sports Radio interview. “I think it’s been horrible for basketball. Look at the basketball ratings. They’re down, they’re down to very low numbers, very very low numbers,” the president said. “People are angry about it. They don’t realize. They don’t want. They have enough politics with guys like me. They don’t need more as they’re driving down, going up for the shot. You know they don’t need it.”
That analysis, of course, is based on nothing substantive. TNT’s coverage of the NBA Restart attracted an average of 3.4 million viewers, more than twice that of the network's average viewership during a regular-season game, according to an NBA release. That’s compared to the NHL, which restarted with an average of 1.3 million viewers on NBC Sports August 1, CNBC reported.