Megyn Kelly Defends NFL Players' Right to Kneel

The day after she declared she was “kind of done with politics for now,” Megyn Kelly waded into the political story that has been dominating the news this week on her new NBC morning show. Asked by an audience member if she would kneel during the national anthem, Kelly started with a joke about how she would never be at a sporting event to begin with. But then, she added, “I am a lover of the First Amendment and I, in a way, think that this whole situation underscores some of the beauty of our country. Because those players have every right to take a knee. And those who object to it have every right to say they object.” She said she believes “the answer to speech we do not like is not less speech, it’s more speech,” adding, “Go, USA!” That deliberately unifying message was perfectly suited to her new role as non-partisan morning show host but would have sounded very out of place in her old job at Fox News. The host did not comment on President Donald Trump’s use of the term “son of a bitch” to describe players who choose to kneel during the anthem.

—Matt Wilstein