Goodell: NFL Remains 'Respectful' Of Trump's Opinion On Kaepernick
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's not often that the President of the United States of America gets involved with NFL free agency, but that's just the situation that popped up this week.
Donald Trump spoke to a crowd in Kentucky, boasting that, "it was reported that NFL owners don't want to pick [Colin Kaepernick] up because they don't want to get a nasty tweet from Donald Trump. Do you believe that?"
Considering that Trump was referencing a report -- which came from Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman -- that could involve a case of collusion among owners, it is a rather significant story.
The NFL commissioner, however, is not yet willing to wade into those waters.
"You know, listen, I, that's a comment that [Trump's] going to make, and that's fine," Roger Goodell said Thursday on ESPN's "Mike & Mike" program.
According to Goodell, the current unemployment of Kaepernick has more to do with football than it does about the player's national anthem protests.
"From our standpoint, our teams are out there working hard to figure out how they can improve each of their clubs," Goodell said. "They're making the best decisions they can, and they're going to do what they can to improve their teams and win. That's what they want to do for their fans.
"So, that's what [teams are] focused on, that's what we're focused on," Goodell added. "Everyone's going to make other comments and obviously we're respectful of those comments, and particularly from the president."