Marco Rubio Praises NFL Player Notorious for Kneeling for the Anthem
Republican Senator Marco Rubio is making headlines this week for his praise of NFL player Kenny Stills.
“No @NFL player does more community service than @KStills of the @MiamiDolphins,” Rubio tweeted Wednesday morning.
The controversy surrounding this endorsement stems from Stills’ participation in the NFL national anthem protests last season.
The Florida senator also retweeted one of Stills’ tweets which featured pictures of some of his charity work with his team, the Miami Dolphins.
“You don’t have to agree with how or why he has chosen to exercise the 1st Amendment before every game to acknowledge the hours he gives voluntarily, on his day off, to serve his fellow Americans,” Rubio said in his tweet.
No @NFL player does more community service than @KStills of the @MiamiDolphins. You don’t have to agree with how or why he has chosen to exercise the 1st Amendment before every game to acknowledge the hours he gives voluntarily,on his day off,to serve his fellow Americans. https://t.co/3C7IL4sztP
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 12, 2018
The Hill reported that Stills continued his anthem protest this season, as one of just a few players who protested while The Star-Spangled Banner was played over last weekend’s games.
Undoubtedly, one of the reasons that Rubio congratulated Stills was because part of the charity work that he chose to highlight on Twitter Tuesday was directed toward veterans, calling it “powerful to be with them on this day.”
This isn’t the first time that the Florida senator has found common ground with an NFL player protesting the anthem.
“Look, I support his right to stand for what he does. I don’t agree with what he did but I support his right to do it,” Rubio told TMZ of Kaepernick’s kneeling in protest of police violence and racial discrimination.
At the time, Rubio said that he believed Kaepernick would “get a shot” at playing again “if he wants one.”
Kaepernick has certainly made it seem like he would like to play, considering that he leveled a lawsuit against the NFL team owners for not signing him after he was let go by the San Francisco 49ers.
Following his failure to obtain a spot on an NFL roster, Kaepernick recently became the face of Nike, causing a stir among conservatives who called for a boycott.
President Donald Trump, who was a competitor of Rubio’s in the 2016 presidential election, has made no secret of his opinion on the national anthem protests, making his own headlines ripping into NFL players, teams and Nike following their controversial campaign launch.
“Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts. I wonder if they had any idea that it would be this way?” Trump tweeted after the campaign launch.
Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts. I wonder if they had any idea that it would be this way? As far as the NFL is concerned, I just find it hard to watch, and always will, until they stand for the FLAG!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018
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