Dozens of NFL teams protest national anthem after Trump comments

LOS ANGELES, CA (FOX 11) - More than a dozen NFL teams saw players kneel during the national anthem before their respective games on Sunday, apparently in response to recent comments from President Donald Trump.

President Trump went on Twitter to say that NFL owners should fire or suspend any players who disrespect the American flag, and he called for a boycott of NFL games.

In response, more players than ever before knelt before their games on Sunday.

"They are compelling people to have uncomfortable conversations about why it is that they're kneeling," said Jody Armour, a professor at the Roy P. Crocker School of Law at USC. "Is this kneeling issue one of free speech? Is this kneeling issue one of police brutality? Is this kneeling issue one of patriotism and respect for the flag? Is this kneeling issue about the veterans and whether or not we regard the veterans? There are five or ten different interpretations of what the real issue is here and that's why people are talking past one another a lot of times".

Armour told FOX 11 most people don't realize this movement started during the Obama administration, not under Trump.

"A lot of people attribute the the kneeling in protest to Collin Kaepernick but if you think about it you have the St. Louis Rams players running out onto the field with their hands up and the hands up don't shoot pose after Michael Brown," he said.

Armour said it appears the President's comments have back fired on him.

"The owners have come together, the players, many more players have kneeled that otherwise wouldn't have, owners are showing support for what the players are doing, that they might not otherwise have expressed as explicitly as they have, so it's actually had probably it feels like a backfire."

President Trump addressed the media on Sunday after he was asked if his comments were inflaming racial tensions.

"This has nothing to do with race. I've never said anything about race. This has nothing to do with race or anything else. This has to do with respect for our country, and respect for our flag," he said.