US President Donald Trump is facing growing condemnation from the sports world after his criticism of players.
On Friday, Mr Trump said the National Football League (NFL) should fire players who protest during the US anthem.
High-profile football players as well as basketball star LeBron James have attacked Mr Trump in response.
One NFL team owner said Mr Trump’s comments were “offensive” but Mr Trump has gone on to repeat his criticism.
At a rally on Friday night, Mr Trump said NFL players who protested during the playing of the national anthem should be fired by their team.
He was referring to a controversial string of protests started by player Colin Kaepernick last year when he sat or kneeled during the anthem to highlight the treatment of black Americans.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now… he is fired,” he told a cheering crowd.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement saying “divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect”.
President Trump, however, doubled down on his comments in a tweet.
The NFL Players’ Association said the president had crossed a line by effectively telling players to just “shut up and play”.
Association president Eric Winston said Mr Trump’s comments were “a slap in the face to the civil rights heroes of the past and present”.
Who else has joined in the criticism?
On Saturday night, the Oakland Athletics’ Bruce Maxwell became the first Major League Baseball player to kneel in protest during the national anthem, mimicking the gesture of protest started by Colin Kaepernick.
His father is in the military and he was born on an army base, US media report. He told a reporter he was “kneeling for people that don’t have a voice”.
