April Ryan Pushes WH on NFL in Press Briefing, NBA Rule Says Players Must Stand

WH Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders engaged in a lengthy back-and-forth with WH reporter April Ryan over Trump’s criticism of NFL players kneeling for the anthem to peacefully protest police brutality and to draw attention to inequality. Ryan said the controversy is a racial issue for some people and asked if the president is papering over the purpose of the protests by accusing the players of bringing in the issue of the military. “This isn't an us-versus-them, this would be something that brings our country together,” Sanders responded. “This should be a very unifying moment, when the national anthem plays, all Americans should be proud to stand up, salute that flag, salute that anthem, and be part of that process." As the back and forth continued Sanders said “I don’t think there's much to clarify. It’s pretty black and white there.” Her words. Not ours. Meanwhile, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says the NBA does, in fact, have a rule that requires players to stand for the anthem and he hopes players would do so. What if they don’t? He said they will deal with that when it happens. Note he said when, not if. More here.