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Fox News apologizes after NFL player blasts anthem ‘propaganda’

Eagles tight end Zach Ertz: 'Praying before games with my teammates, well before the anthem, is being used for your propaganda?!' (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Eagles tight end Zach Ertz: 'Praying before games with my teammates, well before the anthem, is being used for your propaganda?!' (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
By The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 5, 2018

Fox News apologized Tuesday after heavy criticism following a segment about protests during the national anthem which instead aired footage of Philadelphia Eagles' players kneeling in prayer.

According to USA Today, the Fox News segment in question, which has since been deleted on social media, aired less than 12 hours after President Donald Trump announced that he was rescinding the Eagles' invitation to the White House. The president cited the team's desire to send "a smaller delegation" to the ceremony and framing it in the context of protests during the national anthem, which the president has made a major issue.

- Players react to Trump calling off White House visit 

- White House: Eagles ‘abandoned their fans’

The depiction of praying players in the context of national-anthem protests caught the attention of Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, who took to social media to blast the Fox News segment as "propaganda."

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