--- description: President Trump slammed the NFL's rule changes to reduce injuries and called on owners to fire players who kneel during the national anthem title: Read Everything Donald Trump Said About the NFL image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0437b31ca9626621/6988dedb8fd2eef42d358f70/donald-trump-un.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Football](/tag/football/) ## Football Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read President Trump's NFL Speech on National Anthem Protests by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 23, 2017 3:55 PM CUT  US President Donald Trump gestures during speech delivered to UN 72nd General Assembly. US President Donald Trump gestures during speech delivered to UN 72nd General Assembly.Pacific Press—LightRocket via Getty Images by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 23, 2017 3:55 PM CUT [President Donald Trump slammed the NFL’s rule changes](http://time.com/4954657/nfl-trumps-criticism-of-players-shows-an-unfortunate-lack-of-respect/ "undefined") that were implemented to [reduce head injuries](http://time.com/4952568/aaron-hernandez-cte-brain-trauma-nfl-football/ "undefined") and called on team owners to fire players who kneel during the national anthem as an act of protest. Speaking at a rally in Huntsville, Ala., Friday night to campaign for Sen. Luther Strange, Trump said that attendees of NFL games should walk out of the stadium if a player opts to kneel during the anthem. [NFL players have been responding](http://fortune.com/2017/09/23/donald-trump-nfl-players-anthem-response/ "undefined") to Trump on Twitter. The NFL has been mired in controversy since former San Francisco 49ers quarterback [Colin Kaepernick](http://time.com/4924420/colin-kaepernick-nfl-football-boycott/ "undefined") began the kneeling to protest police brutality against black people. Several other athletes, including a number of NFL players, have followed suit. Kaepernick has not been signed to any NFL teams since his contract with the 49ers expired at the end of last season. Read Trump’s remarks at Friday night’s rally below: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4954684/donald-trump-nfl-speech-anthem-protests/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4954684/donald-trump-nfl-speech-anthem-protests/"},"headline":"Read President Trump's NFL Speech on National Anthem Protests","datePublished":"2017-09-23T15:55:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:34:08.565Z","description":"Trump tore into the league operating America's most popular sport","url":"https://time.com/4954684/donald-trump-nfl-speech-anthem-protests/","keywords":["Football","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0437b31ca9626621/6988dedb8fd2eef42d358f70/donald-trump-un.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0437b31ca9626621/6988dedb8fd2eef42d358f70/donald-trump-un.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US President Donald Trump gestures during speech delivered","caption":"US President Donald Trump gestures during speech delivered","creditText":"Pacific Press—LightRocket via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/football/","name":"Football"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4954684/donald-trump-nfl-speech-anthem-protests/","name":"Read President Trump's NFL Speech on National Anthem Protests"}}]}] ```