NEW YORK (AP) The Latest on the sports world reacting to President Donald Trump’s remarks about pro football (all times Eastern):
9 p.m.
When you add up the numbers, about one in eight NFL players did not stand for the national anthem this weekend.
AP reporters and photographers counted the players kneeling or sitting at every NFL game Sunday.
With one more game to go Monday night, already more than 200 players chose to protest. A handful of others raised their fists.The league has 1,696 players on active rosters.
Last week, only six NFL players protested, continuing the movement started last year by former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
But President Donald Trump’s comments and tweets saying protesting players should be fired sparked a massive show of defiance. Three teams stayed off the field for the anthems entirely. Other teams locked arms, with some players standing, some kneeling and some sitting.
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5:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump has continued to express his displeasure on Twitter about how NFL players are choosing to kneel or sit for the national anthem before games.
In one tweet, Trump said that ”Standing with locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable. Bad Ratings!” In another tweet, he says people “MUST honor and respect” the American flag.
About 150 players around the NFL sat, knelt or raised their fists in defiance during the league’s early games.
In another tweet, Trump said the NHL champion Pittsburgh Penguins will be going to the White House f or a ceremony. Trump recently rescinded a White House invitation for Stephen Curry of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
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4 p.m.
Meghan Linsey finished singing the national anthem before the Seattle Seahawks game at the Tennessee Titans, and then the runner-up in ”The Voice” took a knee as she finished. So did the guitarist accompanying her.
At least 130 players around the NFL sat or knelt during the anthems in the early games. The Seahawks and Titans didn’t come on the field until after Linsey finished singing. A handful of players stood outside the tunnel.
Earlier in Detroit, singer Rico Lavelle dropped to his right knee, bowed his head and raised his right fist wrapped around the microphone while finishing up his rendition of the national anthem before the Lions-Falcons game.
– AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker reported from Nashville, Tennessee
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4:01 p.m.
President Donald Trump has continued to express his displeasure on Twitter about how NFL players are choosing to kneel or sit for the national anthem before games.
In one tweet, Trump said that ”Standing with locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable. Bad Ratings!” In another tweet, he says people ”MUST honor and respect” the American flag.
More than 130 players around the NFL sat, knelt or raised their fists in defiance during the league’s early games.
In another tweet, Trump said the NHL champion Pittsburgh Penguins will be going to the White House for a ceremony. Trump recently rescinded a White House invitation for Stephen Curry of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
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3:50 p.m.
The Tennessee Titans are joining the Seattle Seahawks in deciding not to come out for the national anthem.
The Seahawks announced nearly 30 minutes before kickoff that they would not stand for the national anthem because they ”will not stand for the injustice that has plagued people of color in this country.”
The Titans followed 10 minutes later by saying they will remain in the locker room during the national anthem. They posted a statement on their website noting they want to be unified as a team with the players deciding jointly that staying inside was the best course of action.
The team also said their commitment to the military and community is ”resolute” and that ”the absence of our team for the national anthem shouldn’t be misconstrued as unpatriotic.”
Seattle has been one of the more outspoken teams in professional sports on social issues, led by Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman and Doug Baldwin.
– AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker reported from Nashville, Tennessee
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3:40 p.m.
The Los Angeles Sparks did not participate in the national anthem before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, joining a long list of protests being conducted on football fields across the NFL.
Moments before the Sparks and Minnesota Lynx were scheduled to line up for the national anthem, the Sparks left the floor. The Lynx stood arm-in-arm with each other while the anthem was performed. As soon as it was finished, the Sparks re-entered Williams Arena to a chorus of boos.
The gesture comes in solidarity with NFL players who either sat, took a knee or did not take the field for the anthem after President Donald Trump criticized football players for enacting such protests. At least 130 players were kneeling or sitting during the first NFL games.
– AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski reported from Minneapolis
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2:55 p.m.
It appeared no drivers, crew or other team members participated in a protest during the national anthem to start the NASCAR Cup series race Sunday in Loudon, New Hampshire. Several team owners and executives had said they wouldn’t want anyone in their organizations to protest.
Richard Childress, who was Dale Earnhardt’s longtime team owner, said of…
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