First President Donald Trump Attends the Super Bowl Live, Sports Enthusiasts Go Wild
New Orleans: During his school years, Donald Trump played football. As a businessman, he owned a team in a league that competed with the NFL and even sued the established NFL. As president, he condemned professional football players who kneeled during the national anthem as part of a protest.
This complex history with football took a new turn on Sunday when Trump became the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl.
Flying from Florida to New Orleans, Trump arrived at the Superdome, where he proudly met participants in the honorary coin toss, including relatives of the victims of the New Year's Day terrorist attack in the French Quarter, police department members, and emergency responders.
Trump was present at the Super Bowl to watch the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. This occurred at a time when the NFL had removed the "End Racism" slogans that had been displayed since 2021. Trump recently ordered the cancellation of federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, and some critics believe the league’s decision was a response to the Republican president’s actions.
However, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated that the league's diversity policies are not in conflict with the Trump administration’s efforts to end federal government DEI programs. Trump, who attended the Super Bowl in 1992, believes the Kansas City Chiefs will win, and their quarterback Patrick Mahomes will make the difference in the game.
"One has to say that when a quarterback wins as much as he has, you have to go with Kansas City," Trump said in an interview with Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier.
Donald Trump played football while studying at the New York Military Academy, and in the early 1980s, he owned a team named the New Jersey Generals, which was part of the United States Football League (USFL). He had sued to force a merger between the USFL and the NFL. The USFL eventually folded.
As president, Trump expressed frustration with players kneeling during the national anthem to protest social or racial injustice. This movement began in 2016 when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the anthem.
Meanwhile, Trump watched the Super Bowl from a suite with some of his closest Republican allies, including Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott from South Carolina, and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Beyond football, Trump is interested in various sports. He owns multiple golf courses and has hosted several golf tournaments. Additionally, he used to host boxing matches at his former casinos.
Politics professor Alvin Tillery, a diversity expert, stated that the NFL’s removal of the "End Racism" slogan is "shameful," as the league largely depends on the physical labor of African-American players to earn billions of dollars.
He said, "The NFL must clearly explain who they are trying to please with this decision."
Additionally, the NFL stated that it had written the slogan "Choose Love" in one of the end zones for the 2023 Super Bowl to encourage the nation, especially in light of a terrorist attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people and injured several others.
