Sports are the only thing bigger than Donald Trump in this country, so it was only a matter of time before he added them to his list of enemies alongside The New York Times, Kristen Stewart, and sharks. It began on Friday, when Trump said the NFL should fire any “son of a bitch” who would protest the national anthem by kneeling during its presentation. Perhaps he’d prefer it if they fired up some tiki torches and began marching, instead?
Things escalated when he disinvited Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry from the White House for “hesitating” to accept the invitation, drawing the ire of pretty much every major sports icon (including LeBron James, who wonderfully dubbed Trump a “bum”), as well as a response from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell calling him “divisive.” Trump responded by pretty much tweeting all day about it, calling football “boring” and telling dutiful Americans to boycott the league.
Now, because symbols will always trump humanity and basic decency in the minds of some, and because people just can’t stop burning shit online, Trump supporters are now ceremonially burning their NFL gear and denying themselves the basic pleasures of enjoying something without having to politicize it.
And it is a genre, too. YouTube is boiling over with videos of people burning jerseys, hats, signs, and more. “Fuck all y’all,” one man says before striking the flame, moving the discourse forward that much further.
One note for this guy, though.