Philadelphia Eagles players link arms during national anthem

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- After President Donald Trump said he'd like NFL owners to fire players for "disrespecting" the American flag, Philadelphia Eagles players, along with owner Jeffrey Lurie, responded by linking arms during the national anthem before Sunday's game against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field.



On Friday, President Trump suggested National Football League owners should fire players who take a knee during the national anthem.
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"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, you'd say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He's fired,'" he said to loud applause.



Lurie released a statement late Saturday night on the controversy saying in part, "Having spoken with our players, I can attest to the great respect they have for the national anthem and all it represents. We at the Philadelphia Eagles firmly believe that in this difficult time of division and conflict, it is more important than ever for football to be a great unifier."







On Sunday morning, ESPN's Sal Paolantonio received the following text from Eagles' Head Coach Doug Pederson regarding the team and President Trump's recent comments: "I didn't have any discussions with them about his remarks, however, as a team along with Military personnel and Philly police officers, we will stand together in a display of unity during the National Anthem today."



Many NFL players immediately took to Twitter to fire back at the president. Many NFL team owners have issued statements supporting their players.






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The Associated Press contributed to this report.