Brown met with Donald Trump and Kanye West at the White House on Thursday.
Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown continues to not be in support of NFL players taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem at games.
Brown visited President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday with rapper Kanye West. The Hall of Famer was there on behalf of his Amer-I-can foundation, which helps inner-city youth fulfill their potential.
When asked after the meeting if he addressed the issue of “taking the knee” in the NFL, Brown told reporters that he can be very “blunt” on that topic.
“See, first of all, I’m an American. That flag is my flag,” Brown said. “The things that I’ve overcome in this country allows to make me a better person. I don’t think that we should take knees in protest instead of be standing up for our flag.
“I think we should work out our problems as a family and that’s what I would advocate to my children. To all the young people I work with.”
Brown has previously spoken out on players taking a knee during the national anthem. While Brown said that he supports players’ rights to protest, he “will always respect the flag” and stand during the anthem.
In 2016, Brown said that he supported then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to protest social injustices. However, Brown criticized Kaepernick for taking a knee.
Kaepernick began kneeling in August 2016 as a means of protesting racial inequality and police brutality. Dozens of other NFL players ultimately joined him. The protests grew during the 2017 season after President Trump criticized NFL players who chose to follow suit.