The owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars said that President Trump is “jealous” of the NFL and is making a calculate move to “hurt the league.”
Shad Khan told USA Today that Trump’s failed bid to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014 has led to a personal crusade by the president to “soil a league or a brand that he’s jealous of.”
“This is a very personal issue with him,” Khan told the paper.
“He’s been elected President, where maybe a great goal he had in life to own an NFL team is not very likely… So to make it tougher, or to hurt the league, it’s very calculated.”
Khan said that the anthem protests that Trump constantly complains about pales in comparison to offensive behavior coming from the White House
“Let’s get real,” Khan said. “The attacks on Muslims, the attacks on minorities, the attacks on Jews. I think the NFL doesn’t even come close to that on the level of being offensive.
“Here, it’s about money, or messing with — trying to soil a league or a brand that he’s jealous of.”
Khan, a Pakistani-born billionaire who donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, also slammed Trump’s travel ban in the interview.
“That’s one aspect that you can imagine — someone is getting a visa that will change their life is from a Muslim-majority country — and, now, boom, that dream to change lives, they get locked out,” Khan said.
“That’s a hell of a lot more significant than fighting some sponsors or people who want their money back because they’ve been riled up.”