Trump: Anthem Protesters 'maybe Shouldn't Be In Country'

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that American football players who refuse to stand for the national anthem -- most of whom have been African Americans protesting police brutality -- maybe "shouldn't be in the country."

Washington, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th May, 2018 ) :US President Donald Trump said Thursday that American football players who refuse to stand for the national anthem -- most of whom have been African Americans protesting police brutality -- maybe "shouldn't be in the country." Trump's controversial remarks came as video emerged of another questionable encounter between US police and a young black man -- this time a professional basketball player.

Trump welcomed the new National Football League (NFL) rule that players must stand during "The Star-Spangled Banner" at games unless they stay in the locker room. "Well, I think that's good," Trump told the "Fox & Friends" tv show.

"I don't think people should be staying in locker rooms. "You have to stand proudly for the national anthem or you shouldn't be playing," he said.

"You shouldn't be there. Maybe you shouldn't be in the country.

"NFL owners did the right thing if that's what they have done," Trump said. Colin Kaepernick, the then-quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, began the kneeling protests in 2016 to draw attention to police brutality and racial inequality.

Kaepernick's protest followed a wave of deaths of black men during encounters with law enforcement. Last year, Trump described players who went down on one knee during the anthem as "sons of bitches" who were insulting the flag and the nation.

The remarks prompted a wave of protests across the league in September, angering some fans and placing several conservative, Trump-supporting team owners in an awkward position as NFL television ratings dropped.