President Trump said during a press conference on Thursday that the NBA has "become more like a political organization," after teams boycotted their respective games to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The big picture: The president praised Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers for accepting help from the National Guard this week after the shooting sparked demonstrations and unrest in Kenosha. Trump refused to say whether he saw the video of the police officers shooting Blake seven times at close range in his back.
- Multiple teams from the WNBA, MLB, Major League Soccer and some individual tennis players suspended competitions on Wednesday. Some NFL teams suspended practice Thursday to protest police brutality.
What he's saying: "I don't know much about the NBA. I know their ratings are bad because I think people are tired of the NBA," Trump said. "I know their ratings have been bad. That's unfortunate. They've become a political organization and that's not a good thing. I don't think that's a good thing for sports or the country."
Go deeper... Kushner: NBA players are "very fortunate" to be "able to take a night off from work"