Winnipeg Jets players criticize ‘disrespectful’ Donald Trump

The worlds of sports and politics collided over the weekend when President Donald Trump rescinded the Golden State Warriors’ White House invitation then criticized NFL players who have been protesting during the national anthem.

Amid vocal responses from prominent NBA players and widespread protests across the NFL, the NHL remained relatively quiet — with the notable exception of the Winnipeg Jets. Team captain Blake Wheeler expressed his disagreement with the president’s actions on Twitter over the weekend.

The Jets forward expanded on his comments with reporters Monday by saying he’d support a teammate protesting during the national anthem, something echoed by other members of the team.

“It’s been a bit of a slow boil, the rhetoric over and over, it’s just a little bit too far a few too many times, so it felt right to take a stance,” Wheeler said of responding to Trump.

Much of the controversy over the past few days has stemmed from President Trump’s comments about NFL players protesting during the national anthem, which led to an even bigger showing of activism on Sunday.

No NHL player has kneeled in protest during “The Star-Spangled Banner” yet, but when asked whether he’d support a teammate doing so, Wheeler said he would “100 percent.”

“I’m absolutely for the First Amendment,” Wheeler said. “I’m a big believer that that’s what makes America a special place is you’re allowed to stand up for what you believe in. With just cause and if somebody were electing to do that, they would 100 percent have my support.

“Because like I said, even if I don’t necessarily agree with why they do it, it’s their right to feel that way. And it’s their right to behave that way. And if I didn’t agree with it, I would absolutely sit down and have a coffee and talk about it and try to understand why they feel that way and maybe you become a little more sympathetic to different people.”

Wheeler isn’t alone in his locker room, though. Defenseman Jacob Trouba, forward Matt Hendricks, and head coach Paul Maurice all said Monday they supported their captain.

“He has the right to speak freely on that issue, and I support him,” Hendricks said. “I support the way he looks at it, and his view.”

Hendricks and Trouba also said they’d back a teammate kneeling during the national anthem, although neither one would do so themselves. “I 100 percent support what they’re doing and what they’re fighting for,” Trouba said.

“It’s not easy to take a stand, but it’s important to take a stand,” Trouba said of Wheeler. “For me it just comes down to the respect aspect, I think a lot of stuff that he [Trump] has done is very disrespectful to a lot of people on a lot of different levels. And it takes a lot of courage to stand up to that. I think it’s courageous what Blake did and what a lot of athletes are doing.”

Anticipating critics who might claim protesting during the anthem is disrespectful to the American flag, Hendricks said he loves the flag and “it’s not just the flag, that’s not the issue for the others that choose to take a knee. It’s a different reason, I understand that.”

Maurice defended Wheeler as well, although he declined to say how he would handle one of his own players kneeling during the national anthem. Last year, Team USA coach John Tortorella, now with the Columbus Blue Jackets, said he would bench any player who kneels or sits for the anthem.

The Jets may be aware that being so candid on important issues like this will lead to more attention, but they’re not shying away. It’s increasingly hard to keep sports and politics separate when even the president won’t. Outspoken players like Wheeler and Tampa Bay’s J.T. Brown are few and far between in hockey, but they’ve become more common in other sports.

For a young team that’s potentially on the cusp of big things on the ice, the Jets are also taking a lead in expressing themselves off it. It will be interesting to see if any other NHL players follow.