Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday echoed President Donald Trump’s criticism of professional athletes who protest racism, saying that the players kneeling or making other gestures during the national anthem can “do free speech on their own time.”
“It’s not about free speech,” Mnuchin said during an appearance on “This Week” on ABC News. “They can do free speech on their own time. That this is about respect for the military, and the first responders, and the country.”
The topic has exploded over the last two days, ever since Trump, in a Friday speech to supporters in Alabama, criticized National Football League players who have used pre-game ceremonies to speak out against police mistreatment of African-Americans and racism in American society more generally.
“That’s a total disrespect of everything we stand for,” Trump said on Friday. “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he’s fired’?”
Trump’s comments drew a quick rebuke from some prominent athletes, notable among them National Basketball Association star Stephen Curry, who said that he would not be joining his team, the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, during a (then) planned visit to the White House.
Trump on Saturday morning responded with a series of tweets restating his anger with the players and “disinviting” Curry.
The Warriors subsequently announced they would not be visiting the White House, because they interpreted Trump’s statement as rescinding the entire team’s invitation. The backlash from the sports world has since grown, with everybody from college football coaches to NFL owners ― including one Trump has long called a friend ― speaking out against Trump’s comments.
On Sunday, Mnuchin said he agreed with the president.
“The NFL has all different types of rules,” Mnuchin said, pointing to the many restrictions on player conduct that teams put in place, and the teams’ ability, within certain constraints, to punish players who violate those rules. “You can’t have stickers on your helmets. You have to have your jerseys tucked in.”
“I think what the president is saying is that the owner should have a rule that the players should have to stand and [have] respect for the national anthem,” Mnuchin added.
Host Martha Raddatz also asked Mnuchin about Trump referring to players as “sons of bitches.”
“I think the president can use whatever language he wants to use,” Mnuchin responded.
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Will Smith on playing Ali onscreen
“When we think about the legacy of Muhammad Ali, what he did in the ring is not what we think about. For nearly two years I worked to transform myself into the man who changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali and shook up the world. That’s really what makes my job so beautiful as an actor -- for four, five months at a time, I get to wear people’s lives. So I got to wear Muhammad Ali’s greatness. I got to study and feel and embody the soul of the man. From the foundations of Islam and the strength of his Muslim faith in his life to the beautiful wake that he always leaves in his magnificent path. And what I learned about the word "legacy" is that it extends far beyond our professional accomplishments. It extends far beyond accolades. Muhammad Ali is a champion for civil rights, he’s a champion in the fight against injustice, he’s a champion for utilizing whatever tools he has to make the world a better place.” (Sports Illustrated)
Mike Tyson on meeting Ali for the first time
“Muhammad Ali meant so much not only to me, but so many other people in the world, different nationalities and different races. When I first had an encounter with Muhammad Ali, this is really strange, I was a young kid in a detention center in New York City, the Bronx, and I forget if it was '77, we watched a movie first, and then he came in. It was totally overwhelming. I had never in my life experienced that feeling before, that particular stage of my life. It inspired me to want to go truly in that direction.” (Deadspin)
LeBron James on Ali's social activism
"The reason why he's the GOAT is not because of what he did in the ring, which was unbelievable. It's what he did outside of the ring, what he believed in, what he stood for, along with Jim Brown and Oscar Robertson, Lew Alcindor -- obviously, who became Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] -- Bill Russell, Jackie Robinson. Those guys stood for something. He's part of the reason why African-Americans today can do what we do in the sports world. We're free. They allow us to have access to anything we want. It's because of what they stood for, and Muhammad Ali was definitely the pioneer for that." (ESPN)
Barack Obama on Ali's philanthropic efforts
“We admire the man who has never stopped using his celebrity for good — the man who helped secure the release of 14 American hostages from Iraq in 1990; who journeyed to South Africa upon Nelson Mandela's release from prison; who has traveled to Afghanistan to help struggling schools as a United Nations Messenger of Peace; and who routinely visits sick children and children with disabilities around the world, giving them the pleasure of his presence and the inspiration of his example ... This is the Muhammad Ali who inspires us today — the man who believes real success comes when we rise after we fall; who has shown us that through undying faith and steadfast love, each of us can make this world a better place. He is, and always will be, the champ.” (USA Today)
Kanye West on Ali inspiring him to speak his mind
“Before [College Dropout] came out, I talked my little shit just to let people know that there’s a new dude in the league running down the court talking shit, but backing it up. That’s my whole niche right now. People either love it or hate it. People loved and hated Muhammad Ali. My grandfather loved Muhammad Ali and my grandmother hated him. But I bet you that more people love and remember Muhammad Ali than less. Because he used to talk shit -- ‘float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’ -- and I think I say the same kind of things in my own statements.” (Kanye West in the Studio: Beats Down! Money Up!)
Lenny Kravitz on Ali being a hero
"He's a hero, he's a hero of all sorts, he became a hero of the planet because of what he stood for ... He fought with dignity and class and I love him." (E Online)
Lennox Lewis Ali's influence in his life
“Do I feel emotional when I am around him? No, not emotional, just honored to be in his presence. Muhammad Ali inspired me -- from when I was a young boy growing up -- he motivated me to chase my dreams inside and out of the ring. I admired the fact that he was concerned about people, enough to oppose the war in Vietnam and young men going there to fight. He is a religious man and he captured my attention because he was always helpful to people.” (The Telegraph)
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