President Trump is waging war with NFL players who take a knee or sit during the national anthem as a sign of protest.
During a rally in Alabama on Friday he said those players should be fired, and doubled down on his blitz in a pair of tweets Saturday afternoon.
Trump was condemned by the league, the players union and some owners.
The President, who owned a USFL team before the league ended and once tried to buy the Buffalo Bills, has been friendly with NFL owners in the past.
Several were campaign donors or fund-raisers, while others contributed to his inauguration committee, which had a record-setting haul.
Woody Johnson, New York Jets
Johnson, who bought the Jets in 2000, raised major funds for Trump once he secured the Republican nomination. He originally backed Jeb Bush, whom Trump regularly targeted during the primaries.
He was also one of several NFL owners who each donated $1 millionto Trump’s inaugural committee.
Trump nominated the Johnson & Johnson heir to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and he was confirmed by the Senate in August.
Robert Kraft, New England Patriots
Kraft was also among the NFL executives who pitched in $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, according to financial disclosure reports.
Although Kraft is reportedly a Democrat, he said he backed Trump because the real estate developer was there for him after the death of his wife, Myra, in 2011.
And the longtime Pats owner has given more than money. He even gave the commander-in-chief a Super Bowl ring when the reigning champions visited the White House in August.
Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys
A group tied to the Glenstone Corporation, for which Jones is the president, was among the $1 millioninaugural committee donors.
Jones avoided throwing his support behind either Trump or Hillary Clinton during the campaign, looking to avoid alienating any of his fan base.
“We’re going to be fine either way this thing goes, in my opinion,” he told a Dallas radio station in November.
Dan Snyder, Washington football team
Snyder was also one of the inaugural donors, although federal campaign records show he originally donated to Bush’s primary effort. However his wife, Tanya Snyder, donated $534.86 to Trump’s campaign in September 2015, according to campaign filings.
The football executive was one of 500 people to attend one of the glitziest pre-inaugural dinners in January, the Washington Post reported.
Trump also told the New York Times in October 2015 that he didn’t think the football team should change its controversial name, which Snyder has fought to keep.
Shad Khan, Jacksonville Jaguars
Khan, too, was among those who chipped in $1 million to the inaugural committee.
But the Pakistan native later ripped the newly minted President in February for his attempted travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries.
“The bedrock of this country are immigration and really a great separation between church and state,” Khan, who is Muslim, told the Times earlier this year.
Bob McNair, Houston Texans
McNair donated $2 million to the pro-Trump group Great America, according to the Center for Public Integrity. He was also among the owners to pitch into Trump’s inaugural committee.
Stan Kroenke, Los Angeles Rams
Kroenke was one of the seven who pitched in $1 million for the committee, too.
But during the campaign, he reportedly donated to both Trump’s and Clinton’s Presidential bids.
Along with the Rams, which last year played its first season in Los Angeles, Kroenke also owns the Arsenal soccer team in the United Kingdom. He and his family also own the Denver Nuggets basketball team and the Colorado Avalanche hockey team.
Edward Glazer, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Glazer, co-chair of the western Florida football team, donated $250,000 to the committee.
During the campaign Glazer also donated $50,000 to the Trump Victory joint fund-raising committee, federal elections reports show. He also donated to the Clinton campaign, however.
