Retiring GOP senator: I would not have weighed in on NFL controversy

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Sunday that he would not have shared his opinion on NFL players who kneel in protest during the national anthem.

“I would not have weighed in. I know it plays well to the base. I know that’s a constant thing that’s on the president’s mind,” Corker, who announced his retirement last week, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” when asked if President Trump was correct in giving his thoughts.

Trump ignited a storm of controversy late last month when he suggested that NFL team owners fire players who choose to kneel during “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

{mosads}Trump ahead of this Sunday’s games called on players to “respect our flag” and stand for the national anthem. 

“Very important that NFL players STAND tomorrow, and always, for the playing of our National Anthem. Respect our Flag and our Country!” he wrote on Twitter Saturday.

Corker on Sunday argued it is “best” to allow the private sector to make its own decisions on these matters.

“I think that probably it’s best for us to stay with the things that we have control over and let the private sector, let the people who are involved in ticket sales, let the people that are involved with athletes, let them make decisions about what needs to happen on the field,” he said.

The practice of kneeling in protest before the national anthem began last year when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat and later kneeled to protest police brutality and racial injustice in the U.S.