Sports Officials, Players Stand Up to Trump's Criticism

 

This is What’s Trending Today.

People in the United States have been talking about Colin Kaepernick for over a year.

If you have not been following American football, here is his story.

Last year, Kaepernick was a player for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League.

Before a game last August, he did not stand for the national anthem¹, a song called the Star-Spangled Banner. It is usually played or sung before the start of a major sporting event. Most people stand up and look toward the U.S. flag when the national anthem is played.

Before the next game, Kaepernick, did not stand again when the song was performed. Instead he put one knee on the ground and stood up when the music ended.

After the game, he was asked about his decision. Kaepernick, who is African-American, said he was doing it to bring attention to the way minorities are treated in the United States. Especially, he said, police violence against African-Americans.

U.S. police officers shot and killed a number of African-American men in 2016. Many of the shootings were caught on camera.

The current NFL season started three weeks ago. While Kaepernick is not on any team this year, his name is still part of a national conversation. Many football fans spent July and August wanting to know why a player who was still young and physically² able to play was not on a team.

Most people decided³ it was because teams and their owners saw him as a distraction⁴. The questions about kneeling for the national anthem would come as soon as he signed with a team.

Yet other NFL players are now kneeling during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner.

On Friday, at an event in Alabama, President Donald Trump⁵ said he would fire any player who kneeled during the national anthem if he were the team’s owner.

Trump went on to say “Some owner’s … going to say, ‘That guy who disrespects our flag, he’s fired.’ And that owner, they’ll be the most popular person for a week in this country.”

The president also suggested football fans boycott⁶ NFL games.

Those comments concerned a number of players, owners and the head of the NFL. The players used Twitter to answer Trump’s comments.

Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks wrote: “The behavior of the President is unacceptable and needs to be addressed. If you do not condemn⁷ this divisive rhetoric⁸, you are condoning⁹ it!”

And on Sunday, many players knelt during the Star-Spangled Banner. Others linked their arms together and stood. Before one game, the teams left the field before the national anthem and returned later to start play.

A few NFL team owners came on the field and joined their players.

Some fans cheered the players’ right to express themselves. Others were not happy.

The Boston Herald¹⁰ published a report on events before the game between the New England Patriots¹¹ and Houston Texans. The newspaper said that about 15 New England players knelt down while others linked their arms. Some fans booed the players.

Robert Kraft is the Patriots’ owner. He supported Trump during the 2016 election campaign. Kraft said he was “disappointed by the tone” of Trump’s comments.

Trump reacted Monday morning through Twitter.

He wrote: “The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!”

Over the weekend, the president also exchanged words with members of the Golden State Warriors¹² basketball team. The Warriors won the National Basketball Association championship over the summer. Traditionally, the champion team visits the White House during a trip to Washington, D.C.

As the NBA preseason started last week, some Warriors players, including Steph Curry¹³, said they were not sure whether they would visit with Trump.

A short time later, Trump used Twitter to say “Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn¹⁴!”

That tweet led LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers to call the president “U bum¹⁵,” and write “going to the White House was a great honor until you showed up.”

And that’s What’s Trending Today.

I’m Dan Friedell.

Words in This Story

conversation – n. the act of talking in an informal way

fire – v. to dismiss (someone) from a job

rhetoric – n. language that is intended to influence people and that may not be honest or reasonable

condone¹⁶ – v. to forgive or approve (something that is considered wrong) : to allow (something that is considered wrong) to continue

boo – n. a sound that people make to show they do not like or approve of someone or something

bum – n. someone who avoids work

fan – n. someone who actively¹⁷ followed a sport or performing art

distraction – n. something that makes it hard to pat attention

1 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

2 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

7 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

8 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

9 condoning   

v.容忍，宽恕，原谅( condone的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I'm not condoning what he did, all right? 我并不是宽恕他的所作所为，好吗？ 来自电影对白
• Communist Party conservatives abhor the idea of condoning explicIt'sex. 党内的保守势力痛恨对赤裸性爱内容的宽容。 来自互联网

10 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

11 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

12 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

13 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

14 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

15 bum   

n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨

参考例句：

• A man pinched her bum on the train so she hit him.在火车上有人捏她屁股，她打了那人。
• The penniless man had to bum a ride home.那个身无分文的人只好乞求搭车回家。

16 condone   

v.宽恕；原谅

参考例句：

• I cannot condone the use of violence.我不能宽恕使用暴力的行为。
• I will not condone a course of action that will lead us to war.我绝不允许任何导致战争的行为。

17 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。