A Presidents Cup in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty will take on new meaning this week after the divisive comments made by President Donald Trump about athletes who don’t stand for the national anthem.
The American players will undoubtedly be asked at Liberty National about their stance on the issue, and U.S. assistant captain Davis Love III kicked off the week by offering his thoughts, saying Tuesday that “there’s a time to protest, and it really isn’t during the national anthem.”
“I think you’ll see in golf that there’s a little bit more restraint,” he said Tuesday on “Morning Drive”. “We adhere to our rulebook and to our core values and to our traditions, and I think that’s why our sport is so successful. …
“There’s a time for us to protest, and it really isn’t during the national anthem. We ought to take a break during the prayer or during the national anthem to thank our country, to thank our forefathers who went before us. And then we can protest with our votes, with our letters to our congressmen or however we want.
“But I think President Trump is right. There is a time for protest, and it probably isn’t during the national anthem. Our country has fought hard for that right.”
Trump suggested that NFL teams should fire or suspend players who kneel or protest during the national anthem, tweeting that they are disrespecting the flag and the country. Over the weekend, there was little response from the golf community, save for Peter Malnati and Paul Goydos, the latter of whom said that Trump’s criticism of those protesting is “beneath the office of the presidency.”
The national anthem will be played each day before the start of the matches, and Love predicted “you’ll see respect for our country no matter what’s going on in the whole world.”
Source: Internet
