Broncos' Marshall calls Trump's comments 'disgusting'

A player who has knelt during the anthem took umbrage Thursday with President Donald Trump's latest criticism of such protests.

After Trump said of NFL players who don't stand during the national anthem ahead of games, "Maybe you shouldn't be in the country," Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall called the statement "disgusting."

"I say 'disgusting' because of our First Amendment rights," Marshall told Jeff Legwold of ESPN. "We have freedom of speech, right? Freedom to protest? Because somebody decides to protest something, now they have to be kicked out of the country? That's not how things should work, in my opinion."

Marshall joined the protests in 2016, kneeling during eight games that season. He did the same in Week 3 of the 2017 season after Trump caused a firestorm by calling for protesters to be yanked off the field and lose their jobs.

He received death threats after taking his position in 2016.