Trump on Rumored NFL Plan: 'Almost as Bad as Kneeling!'

President Trump is still latched onto the idea of punishing NFL players who don't stand for the national anthem, most recently calling for the suspension of Oakland Raider Marshawn Lynch, and he definitely has thoughts on a new idea the league is reportedly tossing around. Per the Washington Post, sources said to be "familiar with the league's inner workings" are noting that if the anthem protests don't die down by the end of the season, NFL management could go back to the way it used to do things: keep the players in the locker room while the anthem is playing. Players were brought out of the locker room and onto the sidelines after a rule change in 2009, and league policy encourages but doesn't mandate that players stand during the anthem.

"I think most owners would support it, particularly if players continue to kneel this season," the source adds, though others note this hasn't been discussed in depth because the owners do not want to make a mid-season change. Instead, the sources say, if the protests keep up, owners would wait for the offseason—perhaps at the league's annual meeting in March—to more fully broach the subject. Trump shared his thoughts on the topic early Wednesday morning on Twitter, calling the idea "almost as bad as kneeling! When will the highly paid Commissioner finally get tough and smart? This issue is killing your league!"