Not long ago, I ran into a link that showed the helmets for each of the NFL teams designed in such a way as to pertain to President Donald Trump. Some of these were funny, some of them seemed a bit more telling, but all of them served as reminders that the dispute between now President Trump and the National Football League has actually been going on for quite some time. This link actually came out a couple of years ago. But it seems more timely now, given the fact that now President Trump (still depressing to say those words together) seems intent on a very public feud with the NFL.
Let us remember that this feud is nothing new. After all, Trump was the owner of the New Jersey Generals of the old United States Football League. The USFL was a springtime football league, but Trump wanted to challenge the NFL's supremacy and play in the fall. It is not entirely clear whether he actually thought that the USFL could win a head to head battle, or if he thought that some teams, or perhaps even the entire league, might wind up being absorbed into the NFL, or some other kind of scenario.
In the end, the USFL did not win that head to head battle, nor did the NFL take in any of the franchises under it's wings. Trump was the main guy behind an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, and he won - $3.76.
Yes, that's right. For all of his bravado and big talk, Trump won less than four dollars. Actually, he won less than that. The jury decided to reward him $1. In antitrust cases, that amount is tripled, and so he got the $3.76. He had sued them for $1.2 billion, and he got barely more than 15 quarters worth of compensation for his efforts. That was literally pocket change back then, and not worth much more in the 1980's as it is worth now, especially to a spoiled brat like Donald Trump.
This was in the summer of 1986, after the USFL had announced that it would begin to play in the fall of that same year. Trump's challenge essentially was to try and break up the monopoly that the NFL had on American football, but despite it's failure, Trump suggested that it was a "great moral victory." However, it was obviously regarded as an insult, and most people familiar with the case view this as the reason that the USFL went under.
Oh, and also his unpopular decision to move the USFL from spring to fall, which is also seen as a blunder. A blunder that Donald Trump - the same man who his supporters view as a genius - spearheaded. In other words, Trump was very publicly humiliated by the NFL.
So, is it any surprise that Trump seems now to hold a grudge with the league?
Well, apparently he still holds a grudge against the league. A major one.
In 2013, right about the time that concussions began to become a major issue, and frankly, an embarrassing and compromising issue for the NFL, Trump attacked the league from another angle entirely. As the NFL took measures to try and at least reduce serious injuries and concussions, Trump asserted, in one of his infamous Tweets, that the league was growing soft:
The NFL has just barred ball carriers from using helmet as contact. What is happening to the sport? The beginning of the end.
Later that year, Trump attacked President Obama, amazingly, for weighing in on a controversy regarding one NFL franchise in particular, as he took exception to Obama's belief that "Redskins" was not an appropriate name for the Washington football team. Here is what Trump had to say at the time:
President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems! FOCUS on them,not nonsense
What is amazing about that last Tweet, of course, is that now that he is in the White House himself, Trump seems intent on weighing in (and some might suggest wasting time) getting himself involved in all sorts of things and issues that, quite frankly, might be better spent actually dealing with the problems that this country faces. God knows that there really is no shortage of such problems. But then again, he also promised that he would not play golf if elected to the Oval Office, and that was hardly truthful, was it?
In 2014, Trump was interested in acquiring the Buffalo Bills. But he felt that the price was too high, and decided against it. Later that year, he suggested that he was glad, because the games had gotten boring, mostly because there were too many flags.
Then, Trump began to publicly question the NFL's tax exempt status - one of the very, very rare areas in which I actually agree with him, although I seriously doubt that Trump would have cared if not for his personal grudge against the league.
Of course, there came the national anthem controversy, and as a candidate, Trump of course weighed in, as he and his big mouth weigh in on just about everything, saying:
“I don’t know if you know, but the NFL is way down in their ratings. Way down. And you know why? Two reasons. Number one is, this politics they’re finding is a rougher game than football, and more exciting. Honestly, we’ve taken a lot of people away from the NFL. And the other reason is Kaepernick. Kaepernick.”
Obviously, the attacks have not stopped since. Trump has escalated the controversy concerning athletes taking a knee, while also continuing to complain that the league has grown too soft. At precisely the time when the NFL is trying to adapt in the interests of the safety and well-being of the players, he is attacking it from a completely different angle.
Surprised?
Perhaps now, we can begin to understand why NFL owners so unanimously joined together with their players in essentially protesting against Donald Trump, more than the flag itself.
And remembering this history - which is something that I admittedly forgot about, and which prior I knew mostly from a 30 for 30 episode (because I was too young to really have really closely paid attention to, let alone understood, the underlying issues, or even the case itself, when it actually happened) - is key to understanding that there is much more to the recent spat between Trump and the NFL than at first meets the eye. Indeed, there is a history there, and one that is far more extensive than it might at first appear. We also know that Trump holds grudges, and once he sees you as an enemy, it seems you are always an enemy. There is no forgiveness in this man's heart, and for all his mental limitations, he seems to have a strong memory for those he feels slighted him in some way, and who he has a score to settle with.
Indeed, the NFL is just one more illustration of this kind of petty and vindictive history of President Donald Trump himself.
In 2013, right about the time that concussions began to become a major issue, and frankly, an embarrassing and compromising issue for the NFL, Trump attacked the league from another angle entirely. As the NFL took measures to try and at least reduce serious injuries and concussions, Trump asserted, in one of his infamous Tweets, that the league was growing soft:
The NFL has just barred ball carriers from using helmet as contact. What is happening to the sport? The beginning of the end.
Later that year, Trump attacked President Obama, amazingly, for weighing in on a controversy regarding one NFL franchise in particular, as he took exception to Obama's belief that "Redskins" was not an appropriate name for the Washington football team. Here is what Trump had to say at the time:
President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems! FOCUS on them,not nonsense
What is amazing about that last Tweet, of course, is that now that he is in the White House himself, Trump seems intent on weighing in (and some might suggest wasting time) getting himself involved in all sorts of things and issues that, quite frankly, might be better spent actually dealing with the problems that this country faces. God knows that there really is no shortage of such problems. But then again, he also promised that he would not play golf if elected to the Oval Office, and that was hardly truthful, was it?
In 2014, Trump was interested in acquiring the Buffalo Bills. But he felt that the price was too high, and decided against it. Later that year, he suggested that he was glad, because the games had gotten boring, mostly because there were too many flags.
Then, Trump began to publicly question the NFL's tax exempt status - one of the very, very rare areas in which I actually agree with him, although I seriously doubt that Trump would have cared if not for his personal grudge against the league.
Of course, there came the national anthem controversy, and as a candidate, Trump of course weighed in, as he and his big mouth weigh in on just about everything, saying:
“I don’t know if you know, but the NFL is way down in their ratings. Way down. And you know why? Two reasons. Number one is, this politics they’re finding is a rougher game than football, and more exciting. Honestly, we’ve taken a lot of people away from the NFL. And the other reason is Kaepernick. Kaepernick.”
Obviously, the attacks have not stopped since. Trump has escalated the controversy concerning athletes taking a knee, while also continuing to complain that the league has grown too soft. At precisely the time when the NFL is trying to adapt in the interests of the safety and well-being of the players, he is attacking it from a completely different angle.
Surprised?
Perhaps now, we can begin to understand why NFL owners so unanimously joined together with their players in essentially protesting against Donald Trump, more than the flag itself.
And remembering this history - which is something that I admittedly forgot about, and which prior I knew mostly from a 30 for 30 episode (because I was too young to really have really closely paid attention to, let alone understood, the underlying issues, or even the case itself, when it actually happened) - is key to understanding that there is much more to the recent spat between Trump and the NFL than at first meets the eye. Indeed, there is a history there, and one that is far more extensive than it might at first appear. We also know that Trump holds grudges, and once he sees you as an enemy, it seems you are always an enemy. There is no forgiveness in this man's heart, and for all his mental limitations, he seems to have a strong memory for those he feels slighted him in some way, and who he has a score to settle with.
Indeed, the NFL is just one more illustration of this kind of petty and vindictive history of President Donald Trump himself.
Donald Trump's Nearly Four-Decade War With the NFL: A Timeline By Chris Morris September 25, 2017:
Did the NFL Give Donald Trump a Lifetime Ban After a Disastrous Lawsuit? by Snopes:
Here are the links to those redesigned NFL helmets that poke fun at Trump:
Let’s Redesign Every NFL Logo As Donald Trump And Make The League Great Again by DAVID RAPPOCCIO 12.17.15:
Someone turned a Cardinals logo into Donald Trump by Andrew Joseph of azcentral sports, Dec. 17, 2015:
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