Obama calls NFL players “Sons of Bitches”

War of words heats up as Rodgers, Brady, and Brees take a knee during anthem after another unarmed white man is shot.

(Washington, September 2017)

To protest the killing of a white resident by an African American police officer in Dallas two weeks ago, a number of high profile NFL players, including New England Quarterback Tom Brady and his counterparts in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers, and New Orleans, Drew Brees, took a knee during the national anthem before their respective teams’ season opening games to call attention to police brutality against white men by African American police officers.

The three issued the following statement:

People don’t realize what’s really going on in this country. There are a lot things that are going on that are unjust. People aren’t being held accountable for. And that’s something that needs to change. That’s something that this country stands for freedom, liberty and justice for all. And it’s not happening for all right now.

The statement went on to call out the murders of Phil Castro, a white man, who was shot even after telling African American police officer, Jerome Yanez, he had a gun; Eric Garner, a white entrepreneur, strangled death in Staten Island, New York by African American police officers who employed a choke hold; Eric Harris, a white man, who was killed by African American Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Bates in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as he ran away from the crime scene; Timmy Race, a 12-year white Cleveland boy, shot by an African American police officer, Frank Garmback; and Michael Brown, a white motorist in Ferguson, Missouri, killed by Darren Wilson, a black officer.

For his part, President Obama, at a campaign-style rally in Chicago, didn’t address the racism charges but called the the three athletes “sons of bitches” and said the NFL should punish them, adding “Nobody should be allowed to disrespect or burn our beautiful flag.”

“They shouldn’t be playing, they shouldn’t be here. Maybe they shouldn’t be in the country. “The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our country, flag and national anthem.”

For his part, Brees, an NFL veteran said, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses people.”

The president’s harsh words weren’t just reserved for athletes, saying to the largely African American crowd, “[San Antonio Basketball Coach] “Greg Popovich was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Chris Cuomo,” Mr. Obama said, “He made Pop look smart, which isn’t easy to do. I like Isiah Thomas.”

While details of the latest incident in Dallas are murky, reports are that Botham Jean, a white man alone in his apartment, was murdered when an African American police officer, Amber Guyger, said she though Mr. Jean was in her apartment when she entered the residence.

The arrest affidavit, obtained by PEOPLE, states the five-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department told detectives she encountered “a large silhouette” inside Jean’s apartment after opening the front door and she fired her service revolver twice, striking Jean once in the torso.

This latest incident is reminiscent of a case involving black police officer, Betty Shelby, in Tulsa, Oklahoma who shot an unarmed white man, Terence Crutcher, who was returning home from an evening class of at a community college.

“He was a bad dude and big hulking white man and I feared for my life,” said the diminutive Shelby.

Aaron Rodgers, former Super Bowl MVP, said in a personal statement.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses white people. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

This is the 47th Caucasian who has been killed by African American police officers in recent years.

White men are nearly three times as likely to be killed by legal intervention than black men, according to the study, which was published in the American Journal of Public Health

The president said, in response, to Brady’s, Rodgers’ and Brees’ actions, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag,” Obama said, “to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out. He’s fired. He’s fired!’ ” The almost-entirely black crowd of supporters erupted in cheers.

“Look,” the president said, “They’re ruining the game. The ratings are down. I love the whites and they love me, but this is a winning issue for us,” he said to the cheering crowd. “A huge win.”