Left-wing U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) — who's also deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee — said he'll boycott NFL games this fall due to the league's new ban on players kneeling in protest during the national anthem.
“Friends who know me, know that I love football," Ellison tweeted Sunday. "But I won’t be watching this NFL season because of the unfair cowardly and idiotic kneeling ban." He added a “Boycott NFL" hashtag.
NFL team owners all voted to fine teams whose players refused to stand during "The Star-Spangled Banner" while on the field or sidelines, the New York Times reported, citing a statement from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. But players can remain inside locker rooms during the national anthem.
Ellison tweeted a smiling selfie while holding the book, “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook" in January. He added, "I just found the book that strike [sic] fear in the heart of [President Donald Trump]." Antifa, however, is known for extremism and violence against conservatives in general — and Trump and his supporters in particular — not just against the far right.
Ellison also has compared “Dreamer” illegal immigrants to Jews hiding from the Nazis in World War II and said North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is more responsible than Trump.
Oh yeah, Ellison recently donned a Trump wig, picked up a guitar and sang a song onstage in an attempt to parody the president:
Trump — who blasted anthem protesters in the NFL last fall — lauded the league's new policy and said those who don’t respect the flag or anthem perhaps should choose a different country to live in.
“You have to stand proudly for the national anthem or you shouldn’t be playing. You shouldn’t be there," Trump said on “Fox & Friends” Thursday. "Maybe you shouldn’t be in the country.”
