NFL's Mike Evans gets ripped for pre-game Donald Trump protest
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans sat during the pregame national anthem Sunday in protest of Donald Trump being elected president after running a campaign largely built on bigotry and xenophobia.
You can probably guess what came next. Yup -- backlash.
“If this happens, then America’s not right right now,” Evans said post-game of Donald Trump being sworn in. “I said this a long time ago. When [Donald Trump] ran, I thought it was a joke, and the joke continues. I’m not a political person that much, but I got common sense. And I know when something’s not right.”
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Evans is hardly alone in his sentiment, as protests nationwide have shown. But his silent statement of resistance -- and that it was staged on a day the Buccaneers honored military veterans -- predictably set some people off.
"I think it's outrageous," Republican Florida State Sen. Jack Latvala said, per the Tampa Bay Times. "What he's done is, disrespected them, he's disrespected the flag, the national anthem and our whole country."
"I just think it's wrong, it's selfish, and I'm tired of it," Latvala added. "I frankly think they (players) forget who really pays their salary, and it's people who go to games."
Latvala later tweeted, "I will exercise my own right to protest by not setting foot" in the Bucs' stadium until Evans "either apologizes or is off the team!"
Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano piggybacked on Latvala's criticism and even threatened the team with financial harm.
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On Twitter and Facebook, fans expressed both admiration and resentment of Evans' protest -- but ESPN host Sage Steele did not hold back in her social media criticism.
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Don't expect Evans to change his mind anytime soon, though.
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"The men and women who serve this country, I’m forever indebted to them," he said after Sunday's game. "But the things that’s been going on in America lately, I’m not going to stand for that. When Ashton Kutcher comes out and says we’ve been punked, then I’ll stand again. But I won’t stand anymore."
Sam Laird is Mashable's Senior Sports Reporter. He covers the wide, weird world of sports from all angles -- as well as occasional other topics -- from Mashable's San Francisco bureau. Before joining Mashable in November 2011, his freelance work appeared in publications including the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Slam, and East Bay Express. Sam is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and basketball and burritos take up most of his spare time. Follow him on Twitter @samcmlaird.
