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Josh Norman on Donald Trump Criticism Impacting NFL: 'Who Gives a F--k?'
August 14, 2018
Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman made it clear Tuesday that he isn't concerned with President Donald Trump's criticism of the NFL.
In an interview with Kevin Clark of The Ringer, Norman said the following when asked how he would handle Trump if he was NFL commissioner:
"You continue to do what you do, because guess what. You have a product, and that product is f--king banking. It's the No. 2 product in the world outside of soccer—you cannot beat it. Those checks will keep coming regardless of what you do. I wouldn't tell them to do a f--king thing. This guy is going to out of office in two years. I think we'll be OK. Trust me: The accounts will be fine. I wouldn't put emphasis on it. Because the fans are going [to] come. It's not like you've got scabs on the field like in 1987. So what if it's a down year? Who gives a f--k? Next year you'l be great. It's not going to catastrophically disappear because one guy said something."
Trump has spoken out often against the NFL on social media and in interviews during his presidency, specifically on the subject of players protesting social injustice during the playing of the national anthem.
Trump's displeasure with the NFL became a hot topic in September 2017 when he commented on protests during the anthem during a political rally in Alabama: "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a b---h off the field right now. Out. He's fired! He's fired!'"
Additionally, Trump has spoke often over the past year about the NFL's declining ratings.
Per Nielsen, ratings were down 9.7 percent during the 2017 NFL regular season with 1.6 million less people watching each game on average compared to 2016.
In June, Trump took credit for the ratings dip, saying people were watching him instead, according to CBS News:
Despite the drop in ratings, the NFL reportedly split more than $8 billion in revenue between the league's 32 teams in 2017.
That represented an increase of 4.9 percent from 2016.
The NFL enacted a new policy in May that would fine teams if their players were perceived to be disrespecting the anthem or the flag, but it was later tabled to allow the league and the NFL Players Association to discuss the issue.