In September 2017, around eight months into the first presidency of the Donald Trump, I attended a game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and my beloved Minnesota Vikings. This particular NFL Sunday — like so many days back then — was both encompassed and smothered by the first-term president.
This weekend, Trump launched a series of television shows on the most popular sports league in the country. He tore Colin Kaepernick and other players who knelt during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality, calling on NFL owners to get rid of anyone who “disrespects the flag.” Trump claimed such protests were the reason the league’s television ratings had plummeted.
The NFL responded forcefully, determined to present a united front. Roger Goodell, The league commissioner criticized Trump’s “controversial comments,” while current and former players took turns bashing the president on Twitter. The feud has put the NFL on a knife edge, with fans and media paying unusual attention to pregame activities. At the game I attended, two members of the Buccaneers took a knee, while their hometown Vikings stood idly. “Thank you for standing,” a woman nearby shouted.
Dozens of players across the league took a knee that Sunday, and many teams joined their owners in anthem ceremonies as a show of solidarity. “When he started attacking the players, the league and the company itself, it forced everyone to come together,” says Malcolm Jenkins, a retired NFL safety who was at the forefront of NFL activism during the Trump era. A Super Bowl champion with the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles, Jenkins raised his fist during the national anthem, much like the iconic Black Power salute by Tommie Smith et Jean-Carlos at the 1968 Olympics. “All the NFL owners were suddenly behind their players. Even Jerry Jones is on his knees after that. He basically forced their hand to choose a side,” Jenkins recalled.
This moment embodies Trump’s contentious relationship with the NFL throughout his first term. The tradition of presidents hosting championship teams at the White House has long been a relatively low-stakes ritual, but became a source of political acrimony after Trump took office. In February 2017, several members of the Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots refused to join their teammates at the White House. Later that year, on the same September weekend he fought with the NFL, Trump announced he was withdrawing a White House invitation to the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors, after the star of the team, Steph Curry, said he would prefer not to go.
After winning a Super Bowl with the Eagles in 2018, Jenkins immediately said he had no plans to go to the White House. Several other players said the same thing. The day before he was scheduled to host the Eagles, Trump disinvited the team because, as he wrote on Twitter, “only a small number of players decided to come,” and noted in a House statement Blanche that he thought the Eagles disagreed “with their president because he insists that they proudly stand for the national anthem, with their hands on their hearts, in honor of great men and women of our military and the people of our country.
These four years have been characterized by Trump’s frequent attacks on American athletes, including LeBron James et Megan Rapinoe. So it was hard not to contrast all of this with last Sunday, less than two weeks after the 2024 election, when a very different gesture appeared on the NFL playing field. After the touchdowns and sacks, one player after another celebrated by imitating Trump’s iconic dance.
This move – an awkward mix of punches and hip movements – is familiar to anyone who has attended one of Trump’s rallies, where he is known to have let loose during the Village People’s “YMCA.” . Recently, it has become a recurring sight on the field, played by professional and collegiate players alike. West Virginia University Quarterback Nicolas Marchiol did so after uncovering dirt against Cincinnati earlier this month, prompting Trump to share a clip on social media. Nick Bosa, the star defensive end of the San Francisco 49ers, offered his own interpretation of this decision after recording a sack against the Buccaneers in one of the first games after the election – a day after being fined for brandishing a “Make America Great Again” cap while crashing into a live post-match television interview.
Last weekend, however, confirmed the “Trump dance” as a trend in its own right. UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones celebrated his victory at Madison Square Garden on Saturday with his rendition of the move as Trump looked on from his ringside seat. Several NFL players performed the dance the next day, including the Las Vegas Raiders rookie tight end. Brock Bowers, who credited Jones for the inspiration. Then, on Monday, the American football star Christian Pulisic made this decision following a goal in the national team’s victory against Jamaica.
A dance does not necessarily equate to a political endorsement. Pulisic, for his part, said he did it because he “thought it was funny.” And with nearly 1,700 active players, the NFL runs the ideological gamut. But the league, like the country, is different than it was eight years ago, with outspoken players such as Jenkins retiring and making way for a new generation. The league replenishes its talent pool each year with a large number of new players in their early and mid-20s — an age group that tilted heavily toward Trump in this year’s election.
In the wake of Trump’s Election Day victory, the most politically active actors may also look different than they did during his first presidency. “Trump dance takes over sport”, sports commentator Clay Travis, a strong Trump supporter, wrote on X. “Pray for the left-wing sports media who have spent the last eight years telling you that Trump was Hitler. They were completely destroyed.
Trumpworld embraces on-ground celebrations. Caroline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump-Vance transition said in a statement: “President Trump is the PEOPLE’S president and that is why he won both the electoral college and the popular vote. The Silent Majority CONFIDENTLY shows their support for President Trump and his vision of making America great again. »
Jenkins said it a little differently. According to him, there is now “another player on the microphone” than when he was still playing. “At the time, the most vocal actors were those who were unhappy with the system and were pushing for a particular program to be changed,” he says. “I think you’re starting to see these players come to the forefront who have always supported (Trump’s) policies and him as a person. They’re starting to come out of the woods a little now that it’s safe to do so.
The NFL said it had “no problem” with players using the Trump dance on the field. Per NFL rules, players are allowed to celebrate in a manner that does not include violent or sexually suggestive acts, but are not allowed to wear hats or clothing promoting political views on the field after a match. Apparently the league doesn’t view the Trump dance as a political statement.
Over the next four years, Jenkins also doesn’t expect as much conflict over visits to the White House. “As long as Trump doesn’t pick a fight with the NFL between now and then, I think they’ll start coming back to it,” he said. But if he were a member of this season’s Super Bowl champion, Jenkins’ answer would be the same.
“I would still refuse,” he said.
Jenkins admits he felt disappointed last Sunday, as he watched the current players fidget like Trump. The dance, Jenkins admits, made him “cringe,” even though it was supposed to be funny.
“I think it’s concerning that right now athletes don’t seem to fully understand the power of their influence and their voice,” he says.