we re just getting word, watching national anthems ahead of 1:00 p.m. eastern nfl game starts. we have been perusing all of these games, folks. we have seen players from the saints, the patriots, the dolphins, the buccaneers, they have not all stood, some have been standing together locked in arms. some have been kneeling. we also can note that tom brady of the patriots, he did come out on the field. he stood there with his team. his head was down. his hand was over his heart, but perhaps most notably, in chicago, the steelers are playing the bears. and they had said via their coach earlier today that the steelers would stay in the locker room for the duration of the national anthem. we can confirm they have only moments ago taken to the sidelines. they all stayed in the locker room during the national anthem as a form of protest. what you re seeing here also
there s a question over whether players are right to be taking a knee, and then there s a question over whether the president was right to weigh in with the terms he did. for a president who has historically low approval ratings, who has been seen as divisive since he took office in january, people are asking the question now, why is he wading into this issue and further dividing people? and erin, how does the president s base perceive all this? because i m going to guess that there are a lot of football fans among his base as well. look, i think donald trump s most fervent supporters support him on this. unfortunately. i was on another network this morning defending both steph curry and the nfl players who are choosing to protest. and my twitter feed has been lighting up with people saying that i am radical and terrible for saying so. but look, i think you played a clip from mark short, the legislative director at the white house, saying they shouldn t be protesting. they have a r
so in protest of things and unfair practices under this flag here in the united states. but i m sorry. i don t want to sound like a broken record, but for god s sake, if you re going to do that, don t subject, and alex, i said it earlier, it wouldn t be fair to your ceo of msnbc if you went outside your contract and said knowing you agreed to the terms of conditions. you know, it s kind of like it s respectfully not fair, but i totally get it. i really get the first amendment and the right to peaceful, i get it, but you know, do it on your dime. don t subject the majority of the people who disagree with you under that employer/employee agreement. that s just been my take on this. look, bruce, i want you to stay because i m going to bring in a couple more voices to join us in this conversation. chris kluwe, former nfl player, also an advocate on issues such as same-sex marriage and lgbtq rights. and chris, as a former nfl
right, but see alex, okay, so what is the premise of this issue? if we ask, what is the reason? you know, for example, is it because there s not enough african-americans playing in the nfl? is there not enough african-american coaches? at the end of the day, and i m not trying to dance around, because i have a rich history of civil rights in my father and uncle who marched with dr. king back in atlanta. so i get it. but what i m trying to figure out is, like, where is the base. where is this going to go? where can it lead? respectfully, it has to be on, you know, it s not fair to subject an employer when you come in, you know i m going to say the national anthem. we re going to work out in the training camp, play x amount of games, do this. so you re like, okay, i ll sign up. but for god s sake, if you don t want to do that, then start your own business, your own league. that s just being fair, alex, respectfully. bruce, when pretty much everyone the president has targeted here is
straight at the camera and lying when they say it s not going to hurt people with pre-existing conditions. it will make it very hard for those folks to get health insurance. this is the bad bill. and senator cassidy should be ashamed. i have to leave it there. we have breaking news, but i will inviolate you back for a more lengthy conversation. to all of you. breaking news from tennessee. a deadly shooting at a church in nashville. it happened at the burnett chapel church of christ in the neighborhood of antioch. we re told one person is dead. eight have been wounded. this is according to information we re getting from the nashville fire department. we don t know if the deceased reported is a victim or the shooter. we ll bring you more information once it becomes available. coming up, we re also going to have more perspectives on today s nfl protests. what s next? reaction ahead. their experience is coveted. their leadership is instinctive. they re experts in things you haven t h