promise, you should probably have a policy you can offer up. and i think that's been the problem, and they don't have enough ideological cohesion to all agree on something. >> thanks very much. thanks for watching 360. time for dom lemon. >> this is cnn tonight i'm don lemon. we're going to start by setting the record straight here. taking a knee at the nfl game was never about the flag or the military. that's what the president wants you to believe. it gives his insulting sons of bitches comment covers. against hardworking men and bringing their mothers their down as well. taking a knee falls within league rules period.

if anyone believes this is about the flag then you must believe rosa park's protest was about a bus. think about that. and listen to collin kaepernick one year ago. >> the media painted this as antimen and women of the military. i realize that men and women of the military go out and sacrifice their lives and put themselves in harms way for my freedoms in this country, and my freedom to take a knee. so i have the jut most respect for them. >> here's what this is about. it's about focussing attention on racial injustice. focussing attention on racial injustice. it's about challenging our dount extend the promise that that flag to all citizens. you may not agree with collin

kaepernick or the scores of players who took a knee this weekend. that's okay. that's not the only here. no america gets to tell another american how to express their love for this country. now let's talk about patriotism, what is sit? is it draping one self-in the flag? is it standing up for the national anthem or standing up for the founding principles of this country? standing up for the first amendment, freedom of expression. standing up for our brothers and sisters. is it prioritizing racism. a threat to justice every. tied in a single garment of destiny whatever effects one directly, affects all

indirectly. that was dr. martin luther king, jr. he understood that patriotism comes in many forms. the land of free meaning you may choose to stand. in the home of the brave, someone else may be brave enough to put their livelihoods on the line and kneel. standing or kneeling, what does it matter? what matters is what's in your heart and that is the american way. now let's talk to our panel now. mark preston, nia malika henderson and david axle rod. thank you for joining us. let's talk about this story that has been raging all weekend. there's escalating tensions in north korea, hurricane aftermath in puerto rico. president trump is on day three of attacking nfl players who

kneel during the national anthem. why did he pick this fight? >> i think in many ways this is where the president is most comfortable. not only fighting but fighting the culture war. framing himself as a defender. and i think he typically i think is playing along with white identity politics and white grievance politics. i think he is talking to white americans who have some cultural anxiety about be the demographic change that is we see in this country, and this has been a feature of this president, even going back to when he was right. his entire identity was a racial dog whistle around the president, president obama's birth. the racist birther lie. so this is something we will continue to see from this president. he talks about we're going to bring back the phrase merry christmas in this country. he's talking about this sense of

loss i think white americans particularly feel and he's going to be the one to restore them. restore their esteem, place, restore their sense of where this country should be. he feels like he's comfortable here, this is a political winner for him. his campaign sent out an ad, an e-mail, sort of a plea on this for donations. so this is where the president is comfortable. i think it has implications for the country at large. certainly on a smaller level for this president politically and then for the gop that has struggled with trying to rebrand themselves and trying to be a bigger tent party. i think it's going to be hard with this president who is comfortable playing racial politics and playing racially divisive politics. >> still he says this is not about race. does he not understand that? is he that ignorant of the

situation or is this a tactic he's doing on purpose? is he purposely doing it? >> yes, i think he's purrfully doing it and i think part of what he was doing is standing in front of an audience in the state of alabama where he's likely going to lose an election tomorrow night. the candidate he's supporting is going to lose to a candidate further to the right. so maybe he was thinking if i can throe this red meat out. but more than that he's looking at a week in which he's going to suffer two losses, we're talking about both of them tonight. one of them is health care. and nothing bothers trump more than the perception he's a loser. so he decided to change the conversation in a way he does so often, and that is to kind of exploit the racial divisions in

our country. so i think he knew exactly what he was doing and he got the effect he wanted, which was he got the whole country talking about something about the fact that he was going to have a very bad week. >> mark, i wonder if he realized the reaction that was going to take place after. at monday night, the entire dallas cowboy team, the entire team locked arms and knelt down before the national anthem. >> the players were adamant about wanting to separate that message from the national anthem. >> lisa, as they take a knee collectively, boos can be hurt from the sell out crowd in arizona. >> so, mark, they didn't take a knee during the an them, but the franchise tweeted out # football

is family. what does this mean to the white house's argument this is an affront to the flag. >> what president trump has done is created a red herring. he's trying to divert attention to into a narrative that will fit his belief or story in order to defend himself. in fact, we know what collin kaepernick was trying to do. we know what these football players and other athletes were trying to do over the weekend and we saw that tonight as well. they were trying to show solidarity and bring attention to an issue that certainly collin kaepernick when he started this didn't think there was enough attention brought to it. and collin kaepernick was successful in doing so. what donald trump has done is try to make this about pay triotism and try to create identity politics when it comes to this specific issue but also the culture wars. don, what i think is also very, very important to note is that

we haven't seen president trump in the eight plus months in office create a whole lot of al lies on saturday i remarked when you make enemies you have no al lies left. on saturday the owner of the patriots came out and was critical of him. tom brady came out this morning on a boston radio station and said he was disappointed in the president. so what we've seen from the president in eight and a half months is not only our foreign allies but here at home, he's alienating everyone. >> there's so much with what you said. he's not building bridges politically among americans who may or may not vote for him next time, which he's supposed to did as president. but he's also not building

bridges among his friends, supporters. and when you start to lose supporters in this game, nia malika henderson, is that the beginning of the end -- i don't mean the end of the are presidency but the beginning of the end of the support he's had from these strong people and maybe people he's been trying to reach with his racial politics he's doing here? >> i reached out to some conservatives and what their reaction was to what the president said. they are all for it. if you listen to conservative radio today, they were in the president's corner. they think this is a political winner in many ways. but in terms of most presidents you think back the last few presidents, they come into office with the express goal of being a uniting figure, right? being a uniter not a divider.

think of bill clinton, wanting to be a repairer of the breach, he talked about that. george bush the same thing. and obama hope and change and unity and all those ways. it may end up in the end they were not unifying figures for the country. they at least attempted that. for this president we see him actiffly trying to divide the country and trying to get political gain from that division. >> i want to ask you about this, sources are telling cnn that chief of staff kelly doesn't believe this is a fight the president should take on. >> john kelly agrees with my stance on nfl players and fact they should be disrespecting our flag or great country is what the president tweeted. as i said in the beginning of the show this is not about disrespecting the flag. but john kelly spoke to cnn and

he said he's appalled by what he sees as a lack of respect by players. both things can be true. he may not be happy the president took this on and also think the president should stand. >> that's right. john kelly has been working hard to calm the waters at the white house and the one thing he hasn't been able to get control of is the president himself. and through either his comments or his twitter account. i'm sure that this is not a fight that he thinks is particularly productive right now, but don, let me say one other thing on a personal note. i'm the son of an immigrant, i mentioned this before, a refugee who came here, fled a country where he was persecuted, his family was persecuted, came to america, when i went overseas, i would stand with my hand over my heart when the anthem was played

and i had tears because to me america was the place people could find refuge, prayers, think as they wanted. so it's too bad to demean what that anthem means and the flag means and what the country means and drag the country into this kind of a battle for your own narrow or your perception over what is your own narrow political gain. and the president just hasn't been able to see himself as a trustee of the larger country. he sees himself rather as a politician who is looking for ways to constantly inflame his base. >> every time i hear the national anthem, i said this before, it makes you tear up. most americans feel that way. you have a feeling about it. every day growing up in catholic school we did the national anthem and the pledge of allegiance and we prayed. i don't know what's more american that that. that happens ault all over this

country still to this day. if you choose not to stand for the national anthem or take a knee, that's okay. people don't have to agree with you, that's part of being an american and that's the american way. i want to bring in christine kelly so good to have both of you on this evening. the president tweeted about four different leagues over the weekend and this morning the nfl, the issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. it is about respect for our country, flag and national anthem. nfl must respect this. nascar, so proud of nascar and its supporters and fans, they won't put up with disrespecting our skbunt flag. nhl pleased to inform the champion penguins will join me. nba going to the white house is a great honor. stechb stephen curry is

hesitating there are, the invitation is with withdrawn. he's pitting nascar and nhl and nfl and nba against each other and he says it's not about race look at the demographics. >> exactly. collin kaepernick said this was about race, so that's how that started. but when you're talking about the pittsburgh penguins going to the white house, that's great, they can go, the nhl is 90% white, that's hockey. then you have the conversations about the other things going on in the nfl. it's 75% african-american. can you not get away from that. i i guess, and maybe this is a message to his base from a sports perspective, it has been a losing proposition for donald trump since we first started

talking about this on your show don when the news broke, donald trump has been wrong at every turn. he said on twitter there's been a backlash by the nfl because of the players take a knee. he's wrong, cbs is reporting its ratings are up and its pregame show is the highest pregame show cbs has had in seven years. so i think it was a bad weekend for donald trump and a good weekend for those that believe in the first amendment and applaud diversity and are pleased that you can work together as a team which is what we saw over and over again on the field and tonight. >> you respect many players who took a knee for the first time yet. tell me what changed for them and do they feel like they accomplished what they set out

to do. >> i talked to numerous athletes that we respect that decided to take a knee, that haven't previously taken a knee. and one of them, what he expressed to me was astounding on how he felt when he read president trump's tweets, and he is an african-american player. he said, denise i felt like he was telling me -- first of all this was personal. second of all, he was telling me, hey, you, boy, stop, sit down be quiet and i'll tell you when you can talk. he said he felt it was not only a racist thing but something taking away his right of freedom of speech, which is what every american is afforded that lives here in this great land of ours. the guys i spoke to, they were more shocked than anything because they expect more from the president, because don't we all? we all expect more from the land that's supposed to be leading

this free country of ours. so they were more shocked, but they couldn't sit down and sit still and not do anything. i talked to benjamin watson, who played for the ravens. he said there was tears in the locker room, they were so conflicted on what to do and how to get the message out but what they all agreed on as a group was you can't tell us that we can't speak. you're not going to take away our rights to free speech and to assemble. you're not going to take away our constitutional rights. it's unfortunate that the narrative has changed from when collin kaepernick did it to yesterday when so many more decided to take a knee. but the narrative now is look president trump we're not going to let you tell us we can't speak. it's unfortunate that it got to the point that athletes feel the president is not on their side,

they're not american. that because they've taken the stance they don't get the same rights as ever other american. >> and michael jordan, who doesn't speak out, he released a statement and lebron james saying this today. >> we have forgot how we come together and be as great as we can be as a people. because the people run this country, not one individual. and damn sure not him. >> so listen, they're being very outspoken about this. what's interesting to me, i think, christine, is it would be very telling is if anybody reached out to collin kaepernick? anyone in the league, the commissioner? any of the team owners? anyone. that would be extraordinary if they did, but i doubt they did. >> we have no reporting on that at this point. but they should. think about it, collin kaepernick was the problem. he was the focus of attention a

year ago, look at what's happening on the field, all of these kaepernicks hundreds of them doing what he did and, of course, with trump doing what he did on friday triggering it all. one would hope that cappollin kaepernick would get another chance in the league now if he was black balled. what a wonderful turn of events that could be following up on what trump did. you have to picture, don, donald trump looking at the photo, or the video of jerry jones kneeling. how will trump react to that? whatever jerry jones's message or idea was, it was before the anthem, it dwunt during the anthem, what a vision that is and how that must be playing in the white house. an absolute repudiation of the

president of the united states. >> quickly. >> one thing that i don't think anybody can disagree with is that this has definitely brought everyone together when it comes to the nfl, the owners, coaches, players. the nfl contacted one of our players today because they're looking to bring in some of the players that kneeled tomorrow they're bringing in the owners and want to know how do we move forward with this? now that we have been together as a unit and expressed our views on what president trump has done, how do we move forward now? it's a great start -- >> could have started with collin kaepernick. >> a show of solidarity at tonight's game where the dallas cowboy's knelt before the ant m anthem. i'm going to speak to three

former nfl players and get their takes. are you done yet?

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the vice president standing up for the president in his scolding of the nfl saying tonight that he doesn't think it's too much to ask players to stand for the national anthem. i want to know what my guests think now. joining me now former players. marvin washington, dante stall worth and jack brewer. gentlemen, thank you so much for coming on. man, oh, man where does this end, dante? he knelt yesterday and said this to my colleague, erin burnett, watch. >> i was truly hurt. i don't think a lot of people truly understand what it feels like to wake up in this country and not feel equal. to truly, truly feel your voice won't be heard as much as somebody else's. and to hear the president, the leader of our country call somebody a son of a bitch that i

have a lot of respect for, to call a group of men that i have a lot of respect for and talk about them in that language, it was tough. it was very emotional for me. and in that moment i knew i could no longer continue to stand by and not take a stance. and i decided i had to take a stance that says regardless of what you're peacefully protesting for, you have a right and deserve to be able to do that. and please, at some point can we address the fact that so many people in our country don't feel equal? >> clearly, what happened friday night changed the conversation for so many players. that was a breaking point, correct? >> i believe so. when the president came out friday evening in huntsville, alabama and had those remarks, calling the players sobs, saying they should be fired or yanked off the field, he'd done a number of things. he attacked the nfl as a whole,

he attacked the nfl players individually, and he also attacked the nfl as a business, which obviously affects the owners. and there's been a number of owners who have donated a substantial amount of money to his campaign, to his inauguration. and he put them in a position where they had to either stand with him or stand with their players and their business interests. and we all see where that led him -- where that led the owners. they obviously stood with their players and their business interests and not the president of the united states -- >> so do you think, dante, this is about -- for the owners about the bottom line and not out of the goodness of their heart, they're standing up for the right thing? >> no, i do believe that they -- i'm pretty close with a couple of owners, and i do believe that they have great relationships with their players, a lot of their players and personal relationships with their players. but at the same time they're also running a business. and that can't be refuted. they are running a multi-million dollar business. and so they also are obviously looking out for their players,

but at the same time they're looking out for their best business interests. and when those two coincide in opposition to what the president's saying, for them, that's a no-brainer. >> jack, how might this be playing out in the locker room? especially when you have a number of owners who supported this president -- i'm sure it was fine before, but now you have the president coming out calling players sons of bitches, but how is this playing out among teams and with the owners or even the coaches or whomever who may have supported this president? what's that look like right now? >> i think it's definitely uniting the locker rooms. i was a captain on three football teams. right now these players are coming together. i mean they're locking arms. i mean this is ridiculous. and don, i want to tell you, thank you, man, for keeping the topic out there. this thing is not about the flag. it's about this man calling these grown men, these fathers, these sons, these community leaders -- i

mean every time something happens in this country the national football league stands by our military. we stand by folks in a time of crisis. look at what they did for the harvey relief efforts, the number of programs the national football league players are running around the world. it's a total embarrassment to have a president stand up and call these men sons of bitches. these men are leaders of our country, and we need to respect them as such. >> what do you think, mark, about all this? i spoke to you about this and i'm speaking to you again. it doesn't seem to be getting any better except for the players. i mean, with the president. >> when i was in here friday, we called it with respect to the owners and players. this is the first time i've ever seen the owners and nfl players and coaches come together because he's attacked them on a

personal and business level. so where do we go from here? i hope we go from protests to a solution or progress. because this conversation is far from ending, even though i wish it was. because we have more important things to talk about. we have a humanitarian crisis happening in puerto rico. >> more immediate things to talk about. immediate need. this is important. >> yeah, over the long-term. hopefully we're going to go to progress. and i don't look for leadership coming from 1600 pennsylvania avenue. i think it's going to come from the local cities and municipalities and having community forums with law enforcement, first responders and the teams, bringing that together. and hopefully we can have some improvement in the relationships now. >> so let me ask you, well, it took one person to stand up. and that was colin kaepernick. hasn't gotten a job. >> everyone's playing -- everyone's meeting -- the players are meeting tomorrow, except for kaepernick. >> you know, colin's work might not be in the nfl.

i think he's going to do his platform he's doing now with his charity work, it's going to be bigger than anything he ever accomplished in the nfl. i'm happy the owners are showing solidarity, but i'll be more happy if one of them took a chance and signed colin kaepernick, because there's no way there's 90 kwabz better than him in the nfl right now. >> dante, i want you to watch this. steve mnuchin said this yesterday. >> i don't think it's a question of a fight that the president wants to have. he thinks this is about respect for the military, and so many people who put their lives at risk and what the country stands for. and the owners should meet, and they should decide on this rule the way they decide on any other rule. again, you know, as long as i can remember people have stood in honor of the country. this isn't about the politics. if people want to talk politics off the field when they're not working for the nfl, they have the absolute right to do that. >> so explain, dante, what it is like to be in a league where the

majority of the players are minorities, but the owners in the front office are white. >> i think when you -- at least when i -- i can speak for my own personal experience. when i was drafted in 2002 for the new orleans, saints, it was my dream. i couldn't think of anything else except playing for the saints and helping my team. the older you get, the more you start to understand the business of the nfl and the inner workers of how the nfl works. and especially as you get older and you see how younger players are kind of acclimated and brought in, you get a better understanding of the operation of the nfl, of the background. so i would say that probably most of the players don't really think much of it, but i would say more so now today with everything that's going on, you know the social justice situations all through starting

with tray von martin and fi lan droe castile, players have been much more aware. the players have been out there. doug baldwin from the seattle sea hawks has done a great job. he's met with the political director of seattle or the chief of the police department in seattle. he's spoken and had meetings with the washington state attorney general's office. these guys are -- and again, doug baldwin is one of many. you have michael jen kins, bennett, a number of players have been moving this needle. and so they just see the president as another obstacle. they've done a great job of making sure this narrative isn't taken away by the president, and it stays where it was always meant to be from the very beginning, and that's for social issues that collin kaepernick initially stated. >> thank you. i really appreciate the conversation.

i want to bring in now cnn political commentators. here we go, guys. thank you so much for coming on. the president says the issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. it's about respect for our country, flag and national anthem. nfl must discuss this. isn't this about black men discussing injustice, and if that's not about patriotism, then what is? what is he talking about, david? >> so, don, yeah, the president tweeted this out. he wants to change the topic. there is a discussion that can be had about the right way to protest, how to respect the flag and being a patriot and someone fighting for social change at the same time. the problem as it is so frequently with president trump, is that he is not an honest broker on issues of race and gender. so when he tries to change the subject away from the under lying subject of colin kaepernick's protest, which is police violence and police

community relations particularly in the african-american community and toward what his view of the right patriotic way to address the national anthem, he just doesn't have the footing or the credibility because of everything else, birtherism, judge curio, the things we talk about every night on your program, don, that it's clearly trying to get away from the real issues at hand. and not address what all americans, including his african-american constituents have been saying for months, years, weeks, days, centurys. >> i've heard so many people, keith, try to conflate this into an issue about the flag, and i found myself yelling at the television this weekend and today at commentators on all the networks. this is about my father or my grandfather fought in a war and you're disrespecting.

a lot of those players who are african-american, their parents and grandparents also fought in wars and came back from those wars and could not vote, could not get a job, could not get an education, were not treated as full americans. so why is that a priority for one group and not a priority for the other group? those people are patriots, too. no one has a license on patriotism. >> because it's not about the flag, don. look at what happened tonight. when jerry jones and the members of the dallas cowboys knelt before the game tonight, they were still booed even though there was no flag on the film and no national anthem being played. it was clearly not about the flag. if it was about the flag, donald trump would have done something or said something about the people who were waving confederate flags in charlottesville and demanded they be fired from their jobs. but instead what he did is he went to alabama, the cradle of the old south, the deep south,

he went to alabama, to a near ly all-white audience and told them and told mostly white owners of the nfl how to control their young black buck, how to control their black athletes. and this is about plantation politics that you see from the 19th century. the idea of the president of the united states telling people to fire private employees, private american citizens for exercising their constitutional rights, and the majority of those american citizens happen to be african-american is terribly troubling. it's racial politics. nothing it to with the flag. it's all about donald trump's politics to try to insight his base. >> so for those who believe somehow, i don't know why, that this is about the flag, salina, this is about the flag as the president says, why would he slam the loss of confederate statues that represent people who fought to secede from the country under their own flag? >> i have no idea.

i could not speak to what is in his heart. i will say this to you, i do believe after talking to a lot of people about this issue, this issue was really hard hit in pittsburgh because villanova standing there alone, the optics weren't good. and it wasn't something that made anybody feel very good. villanova, the players, the people that were trying to watch the game. you say that it's not about the flag, and you get angry about that. but for some i think it's okay for it to be about things, right? i think it's okay for it to be about protesting, you know, injustices and problems with how police handle people in the community and how they interact with people. and it can also be something patriotic for someone. it can mean that, and they're

not necessarily wrong. that's just what it means to them. it's sort of part of how they were brought up, whether they had -- >> salina, i have to disagree with you. no, it's wrong. then they're misguided. just because you believe something that's a fact, that's not true, it doesn't mean -- that means that you're misguided. >> colin kaepernick says a >> that's not what i'm saying. that's not what i'm saying. >> hear what i'm saying. he said a number of times this is not about the military, this is not about the flag, but focus ogen racial injustice. but if someone believes that, then they're believing a narrative that's not true. >> no, no, you're misunderstanding what i'm saying. >> i'm sorry. go on. >> so they understand why -- a lot of people said this to me today. look, i understand why he's protesting. i think he has some incredibly

legitimate things to say. i just don't want it done at the same time the national anthem is being played because i just don't think that is respectful. so it's not that they don't -- it's not that they think he's protesting the flag. they don't think that at all. they just don't like it's happening at the same time the national anthem is playing, and i think that both sides have a legitimate argument to make, and both sides, i think -- you know, we need to stop talking past each other. i think it's important that we both listen -- both sides listen to each other. >> yes. and i'm just being handed something. larry, as i read, there's new information coming in about a private dinner on an nfl issue tonight. there's no mistake that trump's nfl comments are politically useful in a 70% white electorate, just like nixon's southern strategy won the white house.

>> yes, that's absolutely true. look, there's no issue like the race issue. that's true throughout american history. it's been true with all american presidents to one degree or another. but you have to consider context. the context of donald trump is as a divider not a uniter. and that has been true throughout his career, not just during his political career. from the central park controversy involving african-americans and hispanics incorrectly accused of crimes to birtherism. president obama never got an apology from him, to charlottesville. just to mention something that's recent. donald trump capitalizes on race whenever he has the opportunity to do so and then denies it has anything to do about race, which of course puts race front and center. so this all is of a pattern. it is donald trump's history. you have to consider the context of his career. it just doesn't make any sense

to claim that it is not racial for him. salina, it may be true that some of these people that you're talking to, average fans may have a different motivation. but for donald trump it's very political, and it is about race. >> yeah. >> can i just jump in? and salina, i just want to say one thing. this is relating to what lairry said a second ago. this is what donald trump said on the campaign trail, african-americans citizens have sacrificed so much for this nation. they have not and died in every war since the revolution. and from the pews and the picket lines have lifted up our country. that was candidate trump when he was trying last fall to -- >> he didn't say that. somebody wrote that -- >> wait, slow down, keith. what i'm saying is that was candidate trump trying to reassure people that he wasn't biassed or that he didn't harbor racial hostility towards african-americans.

once he's elected he now turns around and is quite willing as larry was saying to go after african-american players. in an predominantly african-american league. i think that, too, is a part of the donald trump pattern. he's willing to say whatever it takes, and in this case he's willing to play this wedge issue where he knows it's going to rile people up and do the exact opposite of what you're calling for, selena. which is people talking to each other and not past each other. >> right, and what i was talking about, patriotism and protesting, i was trying to take -- it's kind of difficult -- trying to take trump out of the equation and just sort of talk to you about what people themselves were saying and how they felt about the moment. >> listen, i want to get this new reporting in, guys. here's what it is. i'm reading, i'm just getting it. this is from a meeting. the president had a private dinner on the nfl issue. president trump sounded very

satisfied on his comments on the nfl, according to a person who attended the dinner. it's really caught on. it's really caught on, trump said, of his nfl comments to attendees at the dinner. i said what millions of americans were thinking, he continued according to a person in the room. you could really tell he was satisfied, this person in the room said about the president's comments. trump also lashed out as senator mccain and jeff sessions. trump described mccain as a disgrace on health care, this attendee said. as for sessions, trump said the attorney general should have never recused himself in the russia investigation. you can tell he still has disdain for this guy, the attendee said. the room was a little uncomfortable. he really pounded him. the person went on to say, on market reform, trump offered some marketing advice for the attendees at the dinner. just call it tax cuts, trump

argued that's how to explain the issue to everyday americans. it sounded convoluted -- it sounds convoluted when you call it tax reform the person at the dinner quoted trump as saying. there you go. he's satisfied with how he responded. >> this is guy -- we're suffering from hurricanes right now, people in puerto rico are suffering from that, the u.s. virgin islands are suffering with that. north korea is on the verge of a nuclear catastrophe. the health care reform bill, the replacement bill he's trying to do is disaster. it's about to fail this week. and he's obsessed with talking about nfl teams. >> he's talking about himself. >> it's all about him. >> he's comfortable being divisive, like larry said. he's on his surest footing when he's dividing people. >> thank you all. when we come back, one of the biggest heroes in the history of american sports famously took a stand on his believes. listen to mohamed ali who was

stripped of his title and banned from boxing after he refused to be drafted during the vietnam war. >> because right now black people, when you show them at home jumping and shouting because they don't have the nerve to say what i'm saying, they've never had the nerve to say what i'm saying, and they're just so happy to see a black man who will stand up and jeopardize every quarter he's got to tell the truth. other fighters they just don't take part. they make millions of dollars to get him a nice home, get him a nice wife. well, i made it, america's great, and the rest of them catching hell, and he won't say nothing. but when one, he might lose a few dollars himself telling the truth, might lose his life, but he's helping millions. . tonight much more on the protest in american sports. plus, i'm going to speak to a star athlete who took a stand. olympian tommy smith is here to weigh in on president trump's war on the nfl.

critical thinki? a basketball costs $14. what's team spirit worth? (cheers) what's it worth to talk to your mom? what's the value of a walk in the woods? the value of capital is to create, not just wealth, but things that matter. morgan stanley

the firestorm over president trump's war on the nfl spreading from coast to coast. tonight the dallas cowboys taking a knee before the singing of the national anthem. followed by the cowboys along with the arizona cardinals players and coaches locking arms in a sign of unity. but taking a knee or raising a fist is nothing new for athletes standing up for their beliefs. there's a long history of protests in american sports. what's new is this president has managed to unite players and owners in opposition to his comment. cnn's miguel marquez has more. >> let's show you the scene here before the game. >> reporter: a torrent of protest. >> many players and owners linking arms in solidarity, others taking a knee. three teams, in fact, staying in the locker room. >> reporter: even those singing the anthems. in nashville and detroit.

all this protest from a trickle started by san francisco 49er colin kaepernick, who took his team to the super bowl. last year taking a knee in protest of police treatment of african-americans. kaepernick who now can't find a job in the nfl. >> 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? out. he's fired. [ applause ] >> reporter: the president unleashed this torrent of protest with his own words. >> the thing that frustrated me and pissem me off a little bit is he used sports to try and divide us. >> reporter: protests now spreading to baseball and now the nba. >> the president has galvanized players of all backgrounds, of all beliefs. >> reporter: protests and sports have a long history.

in 1967, muhammad ali was stripped of his world heavyweight title and banned from boxing for three years after refusing to be drafted during the vietnam war. a year later u.s. olympians tommy smith and john carlos protesting poverty and violence against african-americans. lowering their heads and raising their gloved fists while the national anthem played. in 1996, refusing to stand for the national anthem, eventually openly praying during it in protest of the u.s.'s treatment of muslims. in 2004 blue jay carlos delgado refused to stand for "god bless america" to protest the u.s. invasion of iraq. in 2010 the phoenix suns wore los suns on their jerseys in protest of a draconian arizona

immigration law. >> the system is broken. >> reporter: last year, four of the nba's biggest stars took to the stage of the espys, speaking about policing, race, and gun violence. >> the problems are not new. the violence is not new, the problem is not new and the racial divide is definitely not new. >> reporter: what is new, the president has done something rare. >> i'm pissed off, to be honest with you. i supported donald trump. >> reporter: alienating some of his supporters in the sports world and galvanizing the nfl against him, even five time super bowl champ tom brady. >> i certainly disagree with what he said, and thought it was just divisive. >> reporter: president trump in a single comment super charging a protest the sports world has never seen. miguel marquez, cnn, los angeles. >> thank you, miguel. now i want to bring in tommy smith, who you saw in miguel's

piece, famously protested at the olympics in 1968. how doing? >> doing fine. thank you. thank you for coming on. your protest at the '68 olympics considered one of the most iconic sports moments. how do you think the protests we're seeing in the nfl compare to your own protest? can you compare them? >> the platform, don, is basic. the need to be heard is certainly something that is very necessary. and to see the athletes stand for the right to be heard, stand as men and women to be heard because their job or jobs that nurtures of america, the nature of this country is work, the nature of this country is the first amendment. and i think the right of the athlete is very pounding for the sake of the life in this country, and it's good to be heard. >> i'm sure you heard it, then.

it's kind of the same argument. leave the politics, the personal feelings off the field or off the playing field or what have you. what do you make of that argument? >> well, it's a situation that's been going on for a long time. there are those that believe you have a good job, keep your mouth shut, make your money and kiss your kids. but i think the responsibility of those who are in these positions have to step out. and sacrifice is something people are afraid of, but it's necessary for a country to grow. now, dissell nating the american flag is not hate. the implication no matter how great one is or one's country is, there's always room for advancement, the room to continue to look for that perfection avenue to move forward. and those who talk against being on the platform for change but might not be liked because of the way they bring it about, i think those are people that

comic books are very, very needed for including our leader of today, which is very difficult to understand. >> would you think that 50 years later we'd be having the same -- i mean it's the same argument. we've made progress in some ways, but we haven't in other ways. and it's the same thing. >> yeah, my goodness, half a century ago when tommy smith and jim carlos took the stand, dealing with issues directly on campus housing, scholarships, muhammad ali's issue, the issue of south africa. these were injected into a moment of moving forward. and of course being 50 years later, the situation is still is here, but it's rising to a more

fashionable instant that athletes are banding together, owners have banding together, locking arms to indicate a need for conversation, to indicate a need for the communicative attitude in moving forward. you're not going to like everybody, but i think everybody should understand the need to move forward by conversation. and it's impending to actually understand that type of road. because it's very necessary to move forward in this country. >> here's what i think. this is just my gut. i don't think colin kaepernick realizes the moment right now, realizes his power. i think he was very brave to do it. you may not like it, some people disagree -- again, that is your right. but i think he will end up being remembered for this even more so than he had just kept his mouth

shout and been a quarterback and being a great quarterback. this is more impactful to the society and the country and the world than just playing football. am i right? >> he did sacrifice, of course. i think his heart spoke louder than the silence that most people think he should have had. the kid came up to a lot of imposing moments in his life. and he did this even before. he was just recognized at during this at a later time. of course he was by himself. and the athletes began to understand why he was doing this, and began to put together their own criteria of the need to help because they feel the same way. it's not hard to put your feelings out front if you are serious about important fact of life, and that is being your own person under the law, under the first amendment. colin, yes, he did something he really didn't know, like most of us, that it would have these type of implications later on in life.