UPDATED 8/22, 4:08 p.m. ET: Rather than continue to simply throw verbal jabs at ESPN for its decision to not air the national anthem during Monday Night Football this season, Donald Trump is taking action.
According to TMZ, Trump has sent out a petition to his supporters, in which he refers to the sports network as "spineless." It partially reads, "I’m calling on you to join me in denouncing this SPINELESS surrender to the politically correct liberal mob. I was the first person to sign this petition. Now I need you to follow my lead and be the second."
Original story below.
Last week, at ESPN's annual Media Day, the network's President Jimmy Pitaro said the Worldwide Leader did not intend to start broadcasting the national anthem before Monday Night Football this season. Unsurprisingly, U.S. President Donald Trump—who has waged war with the NFL over the players' anthem protests—didn't like that announcement.
At a rally in West Virginia Tuesday, Trump praised anthem supporters and derogated ESPN for not "defending our anthem."
"While the players are kneeling, some of them, not all of them at all, you're all proudly standing for our national anthem," Trump told the crowd of supporters. "You're proud of our country, you're proud of our history, and unlike the NFL, you always honor and cherish our great American flag. It was just announced by ESPN that rather than defending our anthem, our beautiful, beautiful national anthem and defending our flag, they've decided that they just won't broadcast when they play the national anthem. We don't like that."
President Trump took aim at ESPN last night, over the network's announcement that they will not air the National Anthem before #MondayNightFootball this season. @mvp86hinesward reports. pic.twitter.com/yZhWMrpuoP
This wasn't a particularly shocking move by ESPN—the network has not generally broadcast the anthem previously—but some wondered, given the network's interest in covering the intersection of sports and politics, whether it would be aired this year.
Pitaro: "ESPN is NOT a political organization. It's not our job to politics, purely, but we'll cover the intersection of sports & politics. "When something happens, when Eagles disinvited from White House, when someone takes a knee, if we think newsworthy were going to cover it."
