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Donald Trump and the NFL: How his presence at the Super Bowl fuels controversy

Donald Trump鈥檚 appearance at Super Bowl LIX will be a presidential first. His presence comes as the league removes 鈥淓nd Racism鈥� slogans, a move some see as aligning with his broader rollback of diversity initiatives.

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As a student, Donald Trump played high school football. As a business baron, he owned a team in an upstart rival to the NFL and then sued the established league. As president, he denigrated pros who took a knee during the national anthem as part of a social justice movement.

On Sunday, he adds to that complicated history with the sport when he becomes the first president in office to attend a Super Bowl.

Mr. Trump鈥檚 appearance at the Superdome in New Orleans to watch the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles follows the NFL鈥檚 decision to remove the 鈥淓nd Racism鈥� slogans that have been stenciled on the end zones since 2021.

Mr. Trump recently ordered the cancellation of programs that encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion across the federal government, and some critics see the league鈥檚 decision as a response to the Republican president鈥檚 action. But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league鈥檚 diversity policies do not conflict with the Trump administration鈥檚 efforts to end the federal government鈥檚 DEI programs.

Mr. Trump, who attended the Super Bowl in 1992, has avoided choosing sides in Sunday鈥檚 matchup despite public comments and social media posts that suggest an affinity for Kansas City.

Last week, when asked which team would win, Mr. Trump said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to say, but there鈥檚 a certain quarterback that seems to be a pretty good winner.鈥� That appeared to be a reference to the Chiefs鈥� Patrick Mahomes.

Mr. Trump also posted congratulations to the Chiefs in January after they won the AFC Championship.

The president played football as a student at the New York Military Academy. As a New York businessman in the early 1980s, he owned the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League. Mr. Trump had sued to force a merger of the USFL and the NFL. The USFL eventually folded.

Friction existed between Mr. Trump and the NFL during his first term as president.

Mr. Trump took issue with players kneeling during the national anthem to protest social or racial injustice. That movement began in 2016 with then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during 鈥淭he Star-Spangled Banner鈥� during an exhibition game in Denver.

Mr. Trump, through social media and other public comments, insisted that players stand for the national anthem, and he called on team owners to fire any player who took a knee.

鈥淲ouldn鈥檛 you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, you鈥檇 say, 鈥楪et that son of a off the field right now. Out! He鈥檚 fired,鈥� Mr. Trump said to loud applause at a rally in Hunstville, Alabama, in 2017.

Mr. Trump is expected to watch the game from a box in the company of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., among others. Mr. Trump won Missouri and Pennsylvania 鈥� the states represented in the game 鈥� on his way to a second term in November.

His interest in sports extends beyond football. Mr. Trump is an avid golfer who owns multiple golf courses and has hosted tournaments. He sponsored boxing matches at his former casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and attended a UFC match at Madison Square Garden weeks after winning a second term.

Mr. Trump was playing golf with Tiger Woods on Sunday morning in Florida, where the president spent the weekend, the White House said.

Some NFL team owners have donated to his campaigns, and Mr. Trump maintains friendships with Herschel Walker and Doug Flutie, who played for the Generals. Mr. Trump endorsed Walker鈥檚 unsuccessful bid as the Republican candidate for a U.S. Senate seat from Georgia in 2022, and has tapped him to become ambassador to the Bahamas.

Mr. Trump signed an order last week that is intended to block transgender women and girls from competing in women鈥檚 sports by targeting federal funding for schools that fail to comply.

Alvin Tillery, a politics professor and diversity expert at Northwestern University, said in an interview that the NFL鈥檚 decision to remove 鈥淓nd Racism鈥� slogans was 鈥渟hameful鈥� given that the league 鈥渕akes tens of billions of dollars largely on the bodies of Black men.鈥�

He said the NFL should explain who it was aiming to please. The NFL said it was stenciling 鈥淐hoose Love鈥� in one of the end zones for the Super Bowl to encourage the country after a series of tragedies so far this year, including a New Year鈥檚 Day truck attack in the host city of New Orleans that killed 14 people and injured dozens more.

Tillery wasn鈥檛 convinced. 鈥淚 think they removed it because Mr. Trump鈥檚 coming,鈥� he said.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.