Tuesday 21 July 2020 12:25, UK
Donald Trump has reiterated his opposition to sports stars kneeling during the American national anthem, as MLS and MLB players continue to show their support towards the Black Lives Matter movement.
As in the Premier League, players, coaches and officials in the MLS are kneeling before the start of each game at the MLS is Back tournament in Florida.
In baseball - where MLB teams are completing their summer workouts ahead of a shortened season - some players have opted to take a knee, while others have remained standing during the national anthem.
US President Trump tweeted on Tuesday: "Looking forward to live sports, but any time I witness a player kneeling during the national anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our country and our flag, the game is over for me!"
The kneeling protest was popularised by then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016 while some players have also been raising fists, mirroring the protest against racial inequality by Americans John Carlos and Tommie Smith at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
Earlier this month, Thierry Henry sent a powerful message of support to the Black Lives Matter movement by taking a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of George Floyd, the unarmed American black man whose death in May sparked worldwide protests.
Before the first game back, MLS players also wore T-shirts over their kit with the words "Black and Proud" and "Silence is Violence".
