In an October meeting with players, NFL owners were “intent on finding a way to avoid” President Trump’s criticism of the league, according to the New York Times.
The Times obtained an audio recording of the three-hour meeting, in which owners and players discussed a number of issues, such as the national anthem, protests and Colin Kaepernick.
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long took issue with Kaepernick not landing on an NFL roster.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is friends with the president, called Kaepernick’s kneeling the “elephant in the room.”
“The problem we have is, we have a president who will use that as fodder to do his mission that I don’t feel is in the best interests of America,” Kraft said. “It’s divisive and it’s horrible.”
Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula “sounded anguished” over whether Trump would target the league.
“All Donald needs to do is to start to do this again,” Pegula said. “We need some kind of immediate plan because of what’s going on in society. All of us now, we need to put a Band-Aid on what’s going on in the country.”
Added Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie: “We’ve got to be careful not to be baited by Trump or whomever else. We have to find a way to not be divided and not get baited.”
Kaepernick remains unsigned.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.