In an October meeting with NFL players, team owners and league executives called to discuss President Donald Trump’s comments about players kneeling during the national anthem, Patriots owner Robert Kraft reportedly called the president’s words "divisive" and "horrible."


The report was published Wednesday by The New York Times, which obtained an audio [...]

Sports staff

In an October meeting with NFL players, team owners and league executives called to discuss President Donald Trump’s comments about players kneeling during the national anthem, Patriots owner Robert Kraft reportedly called the president’s words “divisive” and “horrible.”

The report was published Wednesday by The New York Times, which obtained an audio recording of the three-hour meeting. The Times reported that several people in the room corroborated details of the meeting.

Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is reported to have said, “ Many of us have no interest in supporting President Trump. Yes, there are some. There are some players who do, too.”

In a September political rally in Alabama, Trump said team owners should fire players for taking a knee during the national anthem. He said NFL owners should respond to the players by saying, "Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he's fired. He's fired!"

Houston Texans owner Bob McNair reportedly urged players in attendance at the October meeting to tell teammates to stop the kneeling.

“You fellas need to ask your compadres, fellas, stop that other business, let’s go out and do something that really produces positive results, and we’ll help you.”

The comments by the Patriots owner seemed to contradict his earlier expressions of support for the president, someone who’s been a longtime friend of Kraft’s

“Loyalty is important to me, and he has been a wonderful friend,” Kraft said last year before Trump took office.