Owner who gave $1 million to Trump becomes first to protest him

But Sunday, Khan took a very public and poignant stance against the man he once supported.

In the wake of Trump’s repeated attacks on athletes — specifically black athletes — who have exercised their right to free speech by taking a knee during the national anthem in protest against systemic racial injustice, Khan joined his players on the sidelines, linking arms with them.

The Jaguars’ official Twitter account was very clear about the message Khan intended to send to Trump.

Unity pic.twitter.com/wSNsc4BSEV

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 24, 2017

The moment was all the more powerful for the fact that it occurred on a global stage, before the game against the Baltimore Ravens in London, England.

Khan, the NFL’s only Muslim team owner, had previously rebuked Trump over his Muslim travel ban. In February, Khan stated his opposition to the ban, noting that immigration is part of “the bedrock of this country.”

He worried that the order would turn away “tens of thousands of people who can contribute to the making of America.”

Khan has a better understanding of patriotism and what it means to be an American than Trump does.

And he made a very visible statement of his principled opposition to Trump’s narrow-minded bigotry.