Jags kneel for anthem, and Shad Khan slams President Trump

The Jacksonville Jaguars had one of the most impressive wins in team history Sunday, but the real headlines were before the game.

As expected, a number of Jacksonville Jaguars kneeled for the American National Anthem; a protest against President Donald Trump‘s provocative comments about protesting players.

Trump said at a rally: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b***h off the field right now… he is fired’.”

Jaguars’ owner Shad Khan spent a million dollars supporting Trump’s inaugural, but Trump’s tempest was too much for him to support during the NFL season.

” I met with our team captains prior to the game to express my support for them, all NFL players and the league following the divisive and contentious remarks made by President Trump, and was honored to be arm in arm with them, their teammates and our coaches during our anthem,” Khan, who stood with players and locked arms with them during the anthem, told Adam Schefter.

“Our team and the National Football League reflects our nation, with diversity coming in many forms – race, faith, our views and our goals. We have a lot of work to do, and we can do it, but the comments by the President make it harder,” Khan added.

Khan has broken with Trump before, most notably on his proposal early in his administration to ban travel from seven majority-Muslim countries.

“The bedrock of this country are immigration and really a great separation between church and state,” Khan told the New York Times, describing the ban as “not good” and “sobering” for him personally.

Meanwhile, Steve Zona — head of the local police union — took to Twitter Sunday to suggest cessation of police escorts of teams to NFL games:

“Is the NFL special? Fans make it there fine without escorts. Let’s stop this dangerous practice.”

We reached out to Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and City Council President Anna Brosche, who are both in London, for comment regarding whether they support the players and the Jags’ owner or the President on this matter.

“As a Navy brat and a Navy wife, whose father and husband have defended our country,” Brosche said from London Sunday afternoon, “my pride for the American flag and all it represents runs deep.

“I appreciate those who stood for the flag and chose to show unity through locking arms, and  while I personally would never sit or kneel during the playing of our anthem,” Brosche added, “I also believe in the right of free speech protected by our Constitution, for which our American flag also stands.”

On Monday, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry broke his silence on the decision of numerous Jacksonville Jaguars to kneel during the National Anthem Sunday.

A brief statement from his office contended that, while not honoring the pledge is “stupid,” it’s also protected by the United States Constitution.

“I stand and cover my heart for the pledge and the anthem. I think it’s stupid to do otherwise. The US Constitution protects the right for a lot of people to do a lot of stupid things,” Curry said.

“I am a Constitutional Conservative, so I respect the wisdom of our Founders. However,” Curry added, “I am focused on storm recovery, public safety and making Jacksonville a great city.”