Following President Trump’s decision Monday night to rescind the White House’s invitation to the Eagles for a Super Bowl victory celebration, Fox News aired a news segment that appeared to show several Eagles players kneeling in protest as the national anthem played.
They weren’t. They were kneeling in prayer.
The news segment, read by Fox News @ _Night_anchor Shannon Bream, showed images of Eagles players Corey Clement and Zach Ertz praying before and after games. One image, featuring former Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews, wasn’t even from this season. One image showed safety Malcolm Jenkins raising his fist in protest, but didn’t mention the reason for the gesture — to draw attention to racial injustice and mistreatment of minorities by law enforcement.
Ertz, who did not participate in any protests during the national anthem last season, ripped Fox News on Twitter Tuesday morning, calling the segment “propaganda” aimed at painting the Eagles in a negative light.
“This can’t be serious…. Praying before games with my teammates, well before the anthem, is being used for your propaganda?!” Ertz wrote. “Just sad, I feel like you guys should have to be better than this…”
Eagles defensive lineman Chris Long, who was among the players who had announced he wouldn’t attend the White House celebration, also took to Twitter to criticize Fox News for airing such a misleading segment.
Fox News did not respond to a request for comment.
No player on last year’s Eagles team took a knee to protest racial injustice during the national anthem during the regular season or the playoffs. Cornerback Ron Brooks knelt during the anthem for a preseason game, but he was cut prior to the start of the regular season.
