Donald Trump makes controversial comments on NHL players during national anthems!

At the start of the NHL’s playoff tournament, Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba became the first NHL player to kneel for a national anthem. A few days later, Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves , one of the NHL’s few Black players, and goaltender Robin Lehner knelt with Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin and Jason Dickinson before their round-robin game in Edmonton. 

Great moments in the history of the game to come together and end racism, but it sounds like President Donald Trump missed the powerful message. 

On Tuesday, Trump stated that there is “a nastiness about the NBA,” the way the league returned. (Players kneeled for the anthem, have Black Lives Matter messages on jerseys.) “Ice hockey,” conversely, “respected the mores, they respected what they’re supposed to be doing,” he said.

Fans and pundits were quick to reply that players did kneel and have been giving a strong message to end racism, despite the President’s view on the respect of the national anthem. 

Last week, Trump’s son Eric was grateful that NHL players did not kneel during the national anthem. That was before Dumba’s action as it took place during the exhibition games, not the actual start of the tournament. 

Akim Aliu had the perfect answer for Trump’s comments:

I now kinda hope that players kneel again in the first round of the postseason, which kicks off tonight.