1. President Donald Trump took another dig at the NFL on Sunday after several players decided to take a knee during the national anthem. “Great solidarity for our national anthem,” Trump tweeted on Sunday afternoon. “Standing with locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable. Bad ratings!“ He later added, “Sports fans should never condone players that do not stand proud for their national anthem or their country. NFL should change policy!” According to ESPN, every team that played on Sunday participated in some form of demonstration–from players, coaches and executives who stood together arm-in-arm along the sidelines to others who sat, knelt or raised a fist. A handful of teams–including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans–remained in their locker rooms for the duration of the anthem. The protests came after Trump called for the NFL to fire any player who took a knee during the anthem on Friday. (ESPN)
2. Patriots owner Robert Kraft released a statement Sunday morning in response to President Donald Trump’s remarks about players kneeling during the national anthem, while speaking at a rally in Alabama Friday night.
The statement reads:
“I am deeply disappointed by the tone of the comments made by the President on Friday. I am proud to be associated with so many players who make such tremendous contributions in positively impacting our communities. Their efforts, both on and off the field, help bring people together and make our community stronger. There is no greater unifier in this country than sports, and unfortunately, nothing more divisive than politics. I think our political leaders could learn a lot from the lessons of teamwork and the importance of working together toward a common goal. Our players are intelligent, thoughtful and care deeply about our community and I support their right to peacefully affect social change and raise awareness in a manner that they feel is most impactful.” (WGME)
3. President Donald Trump called out the state of Maine in a tweet Sunday about health care. “Alaska, Arizona, Maine and Kentucky are big winners in the Healthcare proposal,” the president tweeted. “7 years of Repeal & Replace and some Senators not there.” Alaska, Arizona, Maine and Kentucky all have Republican senators who have said they will not vote for, or will likely not vote for, the Republicans’ most recent repeal and replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act. Sen. Susan Collins will likely vote no on the plan, saying Sunday she finds it “very difficult” to envision backing the bill. (WMTW)
4. President Donald Trump has rescinded an invitation to the Golden State Warriors to visit the White House, following comments made by Warriors star Stephen Curry. “Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team,” Trump tweeted Saturday morning. “Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!” Trump’s comments came less than 24 hours after Curry said he wouldn’t visit the White House in hopes that he would “inspire some change when it comes to what we tolerate in this country.” The Warriors responded to Trump’s tweets in a release on Saturday afternoon, writing, “In lieu of a visit to the White House, we have decided that we’ll constructively use our trip to the nation’s capital in February to celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion–the values that we embrace as an organization.” (ESPN)
5. Beckett’s Castle in Cape Elizabeth is on the market for over $3 Million. It is believed that the spirit of original owner Sylvester Blackmore Beckett haunts the property. (PH)
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