New Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper said Thursday that it’s “dead wrong” for NFL players who kneel to protest police brutality and racial inequality to be accused of being unpatriotic.
During an appearance on CNBC, Tepper, who purchased the NFL team for a record $2.275 billion this summer, said “it’s the biggest pile of bull-dingy ever” to slam players who choose to protest during the national anthem.
“These are some of the most patriotic people and best people,” Tepper said. “These are great young men. It just makes me so aggravated and angry. OK? It’s just wrong. It’s just dead wrong.”
{mosads}Tepper said fans should shift their focus more to what players do in their communities instead, citing Carolina players such as Cam Newton, Thomas Davis, Torrey Smith and Greg Olsen, who he said are involved in helping others.
“The list goes on and on of Panthers who are involved in the community down there,” Tepper said.
“I’m not criticizing anybody but we could do a better message saying how much people can do good in the community. That’s what I would want to see happen,” he added.
Tepper has history of slamming President Trump, who he once said “masquerades as an angel of light, but he is the father of lies.” Trump is a staunch critic of those who choose to protest during “The Star-Spangled Banner,” saying the players should be fired.
Tepper said that there’s “a red-headed guy in D.C. that likes to talk about” national anthem protests, but he didn’t “want to mention his name right now.”
When pressed further by CNBC’s Scott Wapner, who said “everybody knows who you’re talking about,” Tepper said: “Well I don’t know — Howdy Doody, who is that?”
The NFL team owner later said fans should be focused on “justice for all.”
“Everybody is standing this season because I think people understand this. It’s what you do in the community, it’s what you do out there,” Tepper added. “And we have a lot of good guys. The players are good guys who do a lot of things out there.”