Jim Brown, a member of the NFL Hall of Fame and Civil Rights activist, passed away on Thursday night in Los Angeles. He was most known for his roles in The Dirty Dozen, I Spy, Draught Day, Mars Attacks!, and The A-Team. In an Instagram post, his wife, Monique Brown, stated that he died peacefully, although she did not give a reason.

While Brown was a star football player, he also made news for a number of contentious issues, such as allegations of abuse and violence from numerous women and accusations of being somewhat too pro-Trump by liberals.

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The Pro Football Hall of Famer acknowledged that some of Trump’s policies were to be criticized, but the way the media treated the president made him support Trump. Brown felt that the media had unfairly singled out Trump.

“I should be criticizing Trump on every level because he does certain things that call for criticism but when I look at television I see all these announcers become experts and they’re pointing the fingers and they’re not doing a doggone thing but pointing their fingers, I find myself really pulling for the president,” Brown said on Fox Sports Radio.

Trump urged NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to punish players who kneel during the playing of the national anthem in 2018. A month after the 2016 presidential election, Brown met with the then-president-elect at Trump Tower. Brown has previously spoken out against athletes who decide to take a knee.

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The Hall of Fame running back declared that he “would never kneel” because he had too much respect for the flag, and he wished other players would follow his lead.

“I am not going to denigrate my flag and I’m going to stand for the national anthem,” he said. “I’m fighting with all of my strength to make it a better country, but I don’t think that’s the issue. Because what is the top side? Are you not going to stand up? This is our country, man.”

LeBron James and Stephen Curry are some of the prominent sportsmen who have harshly condemned Trump. Brown acknowledged that by supporting the President, he was not going to make any friends.

Also Read: Who is Monique Brown, Jim Brown’s wife?

“That would make me very unpopular in the black community, very unpopular with a lot of Americans […] but I think that there are certain good things that are coming out of this Presidency because we’ve never seen anything like it,” he explained.

“I mean there’s confusion. A lot of people are retiring. A lot of people are giving their opinions and we have to really dig deep down inside to come with the right kind of an answer.”