Abdul-Jabbar Praises Pro Athletes for Protesting Peacefully

NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is applauding professional athletes for using their voices to demonstrate peacefully.

"This is what America is about. We discuss things, then we try to solve the problem and that's what we have to do," the NBA's all-time scoring leader told MSNBC's Chuck Todd on "MTP Daily" Wednesday.

"The fact that these young men are demanding some kind of accountability is remarkable and it's being done in a non-violent, easy-to-understand way."

Trump last Friday said NFL owners should fire players who kneel during the national anthem, and doubled down on those comments over the weekend.

"I think it's very disrespectful to our flag and to our country," he said. "We have great people representing our country, especially our soldiers, our first responders, and they should be treated with respect. And when you get on your knee and you don't respect the American flag or the anthem, that's not being treated with respect."

Professional sports players and some NFL owners slammed Trump over his comments and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell denounced the president's statements, saying his "divisive" comments showed a "lack of respect for the NFL."

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