There were more than 100 college football players selected in the NFL Draft through Saturday morning, but only one got a personal congratulations from President Donald Trump — No. 2 overall pick Nick Bosa, who had sparked controversy by calling Colin Kaepernick a “clown.”
Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning to offer his best wishes to the Ohio State University pass-rusher, who many considered to be the top talent in the NFL Draft. Bosa was snagged by the San Francisco 49ers, which could create a bit of trouble given Bosa’s statements about a former 49ers quarterback.
Bosa took some heat for a series of controversially and politically charged Twitter posts, including one in which he called Kaepernick a “clown.” At the time, Kaepernick was the center of an NFL controversy when he began taking a knee during the national anthem in protest of police brutality against minorities. The protest spread to other players in the NFL, and Kaepernick himself was soon out of the league. He filed a lawsuit claiming NFL owners were colluding to keep him from getting another job. The league settled out of court.
After he was drafted, Bosa was asked about the statement and offered an apology for what he said about Kaepernick.
“I’m sorry if I hurt anybody. I definitely didn’t intend for that to be the case,” Bosa told NFL.com . “I think me being here (San Francisco) is even better for me as a person, because I don’t think there’s anywhere, any city, that you could really be in that would help you grow as much as this one will. I’m going to be surrounded with people of all different kinds, so I’m going to grow as a person. I’m going to be on my own. I’m going to grow up, I’m gonna learn a lot of new things. It’s exciting.”
In other tweets, Bosa had criticized singer Beyonce and the movie Black Panther .
The criticism didn’t seem to bother Donald Trump, who took to Twitter to congratulate Bosa. That led many to believe that Bosa was a Trump supporter, or at least the president believed him to be.
Trump congratulates NFL’s No. 2 pick Nick Bosa, urging the player to “stay true” to himself as he heads to San Francisco https://t.co/kVWzhPfPft
— Bloomberg (@business) April 27, 2019
Congratulations to Nick Bosa on being picked number two in the NFL Draft. You will be a great player for years to come, maybe one of the best. Big Talent! San Francisco will embrace you but most importantly, always stay true to yourself. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2019
Donald Trump had long been critical of Colin Kaepernick and the NFL protests, even calling on NFL owners to fire players who took a knee during the national anthem. The NFL briefly changed its rule to forbid players from protesting during the anthem — which many believed to be in response to Trump’s criticism — but the rule change was overturned.
