Former NFL head coach Rex Ryan blasted Donald Trump during a segment on ESPN Sunday morning over the former reality show star’s remarks about players taking a knee during the national anthem. Ryan, a Trump supporter, said he was “appalled” and “pissed off.” However, when he introduced Trump at a rally in Buffalo during the 2016 election and endorsed him for president, he praised him for saying “what’s on his mind.”
Last April, the former Buffalo Bills and New York Jets coach said, “One thing I really admire about [Trump] is he’ll say what’s on his mind. So many times, a lot of people want to say the same thing, but there’s a big difference: they don’t have the courage to say it.”
“They all think it, but they don’t have the courage to say it. Donald Trump certainly has the courage to say it. That’s what I respect,” he said, adding, “I’m a Trump guy.”
Well, now that Trump is saying “what’s really on his mind” Ryan says he’s “appalled.”
“Let me tell you, I’m pissed off, I’ll be honest with you,” Ryan said this morning “I supported Donald Trump. I sat back when he asked me to introduce him at a rally in Buffalo, I did that.”
“But I’m reading these comments and it’s appalling to me and I’m sure it’s appalling to any citizen in our country,” he continued.
“Calling our players SOBs and all that kind of stuff? That’s not the men that I know,” Ryan said. “The men I know in the locker room, I’m proud of, I’m proud to be associated with those people.”
“I apologize for being pissed off but guess what? That’s it because right away I’m associated with what Donald Trump stands for and all that because I introduced him. I never signed up for that, I never wanted that,” he added. That doesn’t mean I support 100 percent of the things he says.”
Watch:
If only there had been a telltale sign before the election that Trump would say inappropriate and offensive things. Just a small warning. Something. If only we could have predicted that the very man featured in the Access Hollywood tape would call an athlete’s mother a ‘bitch’ then this all could have been avoided. But alas, there were no indications WHATSOEVER that that bloviating windbag would lash out at black athletes. Nope, no warnings at all. Zilch.
Image via screen capture.
