Current US President Donald Trump's attack towards the NFL has drawn the ire of many athletes and celebrities. Musicians like Stevie Wonder and Pharrell Williams are some of the musicians who "took a knee" during their recent concerts to show their support for the NFL.
In front of the Central Park crowd, Stevie was helped by his son Kwame Morris as he gave not one, but both knees as a sign of protest to Trump's latest tirade. Declaring that he is taking a knee for America, Stevie Wonder took the opportunity to pray at the Global Citizen Festival for the planet, the future, and the world leaders, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Other musicians followed Stevie's lead, with John Legend and Eddie Vedder kneeling during their individual concerts that Sunday night. Also, Variety reported that the band Prophets of Rage kneeled during their recent performance, even donning jerseys of Colin Kaerpernick. Pearl Jam, on the other hand, showed their support through their Twitter post, stating that they back up everyone's constitutional right to sit, to stand or to kneel.
In 2016, during the Obama administration, then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Kaerpernick knelt during the national anthem as a sign of protest to the controversial killing of African Americans by police officers at that time. The celebrity backlash, however, stems from Trump's speech from an Alabama rally, wherein the president called on NFL owners to fire any player who kneels during the national anthem.
The situation, which is unpleasant as it is already, was further aggravated by his response to Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, who expressed reservations on visiting the White House as NBA champions. Trump, on his end, withdrew the invitation, which has been a tradition since the administration of Ronald Reagan. Fellow NBA player LeBron James and NFL running back Sean LeSean McCoy were among who showed support to the champion team's decision.
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