U.S. president Donald Trump criticized the National Football League yesterday  for not forcing players to stand for the national anthem, firing back after league officials meeting in new York chose instead to effectively back players’ right to political activism.

Total disrespect for our great country! tweeted trump, who has repeatedly denounced players in the country’s most popular sports league as unpatriotic for kneeling during the anthem in a demonstration against racism.

The small but growing number of players kneeling during the national anthem are protesting the killing by police of unarmed black men and boys across the United States, as well as racial disparities in the criminal justice system. More than half of all NFL players are black.

The Commissioner of the NFL Roger Goodel said the league will meet again with players, probably in the next two weeks, and spend more time talking to reporters when the gathering concludes.