Mothers of NFL Players Pen an Open Letter to Donald Trump
President Donald Trump called the protesting NFL players a “son of a bitch” during a rally last week, and the players themselves aren’t the only ones upset about it. A group of NFL moms wrote an open letter to the President of the United States, expressing their dismay at his message.
“[We] believe in promoting a positive image of professional football players as athletes and young men of character,” the letter reads. “It saddens the organization to know that President Donald Trump would make our sons — as well as their mothers — the target of inflammatory, offensive comments that are intended to promote anger and hatred, depleting them of their heritage and self-identity.”
The comments and subsequent tweets from Trump have caused players across the league last week on nearly every team to protest during the National Anthem in some form. Now, the mothers of those players are voicing support of their sons in a letter published by BuzzFeed.
The Professional Football Players Mothers Association (PFPMA) stated they are organized to do charity work and other noble causes. They argue that the NFL players often give back to the community and have every right to voice their concerns.
“We know our self-worth as mothers,” Michele Green, the president PFPMA who is the mother of former NFL offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, told BuzzFeed News. “We’re not what he said we were.”
The mothers’ group went on to thank the entire NFL community and its fans “for standing with our sons to affect change in America.”
They ended the letter by writing: “Whether it be by kneeling or standing with their arms locked, our sons have chosen this platform to get the message out about social justice and unity, and they will always have our support. … Now that we obviously have your attention, let’s put a stop to the divisive language and start a productive dialogue for positive change.”