New Sports Illustrated Cover Shows Athletes United

The new cover of Sports Illustrated reads: "A NATION DIVIDED, SPORTS UNITED" and shows some of the biggest names in sports linking arms.

Those on the cover include NBA stars LeBron James and Stephen Curry, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and WNBA player Candace Parker, according to The Hill. All are photographed in black and white.

A tweet of the new cover links to an online story posted by the magazine with the headline: "Athletes Are Not Going to 'Stick to Sports' and That's an Admirable American Thing."

The cover comes after President Donald Trump sharply criticized protesting NFL players for taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem.

The SI story notes: "And Donald Trump, who never saw a crack in the pavement he couldn't turn into an earthquake, is not going to absent himself from the controversy that he has done so much to stir up."

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