President Donald Trump profanely criticized NFL players who protest police brutality by kneeling during the U.S. national anthem and said they should be fired by their teams.
Team owners, Trump said, should respond by telling their coaches: "Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he's fired. He's fired!"
The anthem protests began in August 2016 when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled before a preseason game.
The protests, largely by black players, are "a total disrespect of our heritage," Trump said.