Detailed Instructions: In this task, you are given a text of many news articles seperated by special token "|||||". Your task is to summarize them.
Q: Denver Broncos tight end Virgil Green (85) gestures as teammate Max Garcia, left, takes a knee during the playing of the national anthem prior to an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday,... (Associated Press) 
  
 Denver Broncos tight end Virgil Green (85) gestures as teammate Max Garcia, left, takes a knee during the playing of the national anthem prior to an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus) (Associated Press) 
  
 President Donald Trump's comments about owners firing players who kneel during the national anthem sparked a mass increase in such protests around the National Football League Sunday, as more than 130 players sat, knelt or raised their fists in defiance during early games. 
  
 A week ago, just four players didn't stand and two raised their fists. 
  
 Defensive star Von Miller was among the majority of Denver Broncos who took a knee in Buffalo Sunday, where Bills running back LeSean McCoy stretched during the "Star Spangled Banner." In Chicago, the Pittsburgh Steelers stayed in the tunnel except for one player, Army veteran Alejandro Villanueva, who stood outside with a hand over his heart. Tom Brady was among the New England Patriots who locked arms in solidarity in Foxborough, Massachusetts. 
  
 The president's comments turned the anthems — usually sung during commercials — into must-watch television shown live by the networks and Yahoo!, which streamed the game in London. In some NFL stadiums, crowds booed or yelled at players to stand. There was also some applause. 
  
 NFL players, coaches, owners and executives used the anthems to show solidarity in their defiance to Trump's criticism. 
  
 In Detroit, anthem singer Rico Lavelle took a knee at the word "brave," lowering his head and raising his right fist into the air. 
  
 Jets Chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson, whose brother, Woody, is the ambassador to England and one of Trump's most ardent supporters, called it "an honor and a privilege to stand arm-in-arm unified with our players during today's national anthem" in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 
  
 The issue reverberated across the Atlantic, where about two dozen players, including Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs and Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette, took a knee during the playing of the U.S. anthem at Wembley Stadium. 
  
 "We stand with our brothers," Suggs said. "They have the right and we knelt with them today. To protest, non-violent protest, is as American as it gets, so we knelt with them today to let them know that we're a unified front. There ain't no dividing us. I guess we're all son-of-a-bitches." 
  
 Jaguars owner Shad Khan and players on both teams who were not kneeling remained locked arm-in-arm throughout the playing of the anthem and "God Save The Queen." No players were knelt during the British anthem. 
  
 Trump saw the arm-in-arm gestures as a victory . Among his latest tweets on the top Sunday was this: "Great solidarity for our National Anthem and for our Country. Standing with locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable. Bad ratings!" 
  
 A handful of NFL players have refused to stand during the anthem to protest several issues, including police brutality. But that number ballooned Sunday following Trump's two-day weekend rant that began with the president calling for NFL protesters to be fired and continued Saturday with the president rescinding a White House invitation for the NBA champion Golden State Warriors over star Stephen Curry's criticism of Trump. 
  
 The movement started more than a year ago when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Collin Kaepernick refused to stand during the national anthem as a protest of police treatment of racial minorities. This season, no team has signed him, and some supporters believe NFL owners are avoiding him because of the controversy. 
  
 A handful of Miami Dolphins players wore black T-shirts supporting Kaepernick during pregame warm-ups. The shirts have "#IMWITHKAP" written in bold white lettering on the front. 
  
 Trump's targeting of top professional athletes in football and basketball brought swift condemnation from executives and players in the National Football League and the National Basketball Association. 
  
 Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin defended Trump's attacks Sunday, saying on ABC's "This Week" that the president thinks "owners should have a rule that players should have to stand in respect for the national anthem." Mnuchin added that "they can do free speech on their own time." 
  
 The National Hockey League's reigning champion Pittsburgh Penguins announced Sunday they've accepted a White House invitation from Trump. The Penguins said they respect the office of the president and "the long tradition of championship team visiting the White House." 
  
 "Any agreement or disagreement with a president's politics, policies or agenda can be expressed in other ways," the Penguins said. "However, we very much respect the rights of other individuals and groups to express themselves as they see fit." 
  
 Before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals in Minneapolis on Sunday, the Los Angeles Sparks left the floor while the Minnesota Lynx stood arm-in-arm. The Sparks returned to a chorus of boos when the song was finished. 
  
 Sports hasn't been immune from America's deep political rifts, but the president's delving into the NFL protests started by Kaepernick brought new attention to the issues. 
  
 "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, you'd say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He's fired,'" Trump said to loud applause Friday night at a rally in Huntsville, Alabama. 
  
 "If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast. Fire or suspend!" Trump said in a Sunday morning tweet. 
  
 Trump also mocked the league's crackdown on illegal hits, suggesting the league had softened because of its safety initiatives, which stem from an increased awareness of the devastating effects of repeated hits to the head. 
  
 Kahn, who was among the NFL owners who chipped in $1 million to the Trump inauguration committee, said he met with his team captains before kickoff in London "to express my support for them, all NFL players and the league following the divisive and contentious remarks made by President Trump." 
  
 Trump's comments drew sharp responses from some of the nation's top athletes, with LeBron James calling the president a "bum." Hours later, Major League Baseball saw its first player take a knee during the national anthem. 
  
 The NFL its players, often at odds, have been united in condemning the president's criticisms. 
  
 Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who's been a strong supporter of the president, expressed "deep disappointment" with Trump. 
  
 The NFL, meanwhile, said it would re-air a unity spot called "Inside These Lines" during its Sunday night game between Oakland and Washington on NBC. "Inside These Lines" is a 60-second video that highlights the power of football to bring people together. 
  
 ___ 
  
 For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL 
  
 ___ 
  
 AP Sports Writers Dennis Waszak Jr., Steve Reed, Larry Lage and Stephen Whyno and Associated Press Writer Zac Boyer contributed. 
  
 ___ 
  
 Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton ||||| President Trump’s call for NFL owners to get rid of “son of a bitch” players who chose to demonstrate during the anthem drew a ton of backlash from the sports world yesterday, and today, the players who were the focus of those remarks had their chance to respond before their games. Almost every team playing in the 1 p.m. games performed some show of unity during the anthem (at the very least by locking arms), while dozens of players took a knee. Here are images from anthems around the league: 
  
  
  
 Buffalo Bills (Notably LeSean McCoy) 
  
 Denver Broncos 
  
 Advertisement 
  
 New Orleans Saints 
  
 Miami Dolphins 
  
 Advertisement 
  
 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 
  
 Cleveland Browns 
  
 Advertisement 
  
 New England Patriots 
  
 Philadelphia Eagles 
  
 Advertisement 
  
 New York Giants 
  
 Pittsburgh Steelers, who all stayed in the locker room except for U.S. Army veteran and offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva. 
  
 Advertisement 
  
 Some NFL fans, who found these protests disrespectful, reportedly responded by booing in multiple stadiums. 
  
 Advertisement 
  
 Update (4:45 p.m. ET): Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt sat on the bench during the anthem, while tight end Travis Kelce took a knee. 
  
 Advertisement 
  
 Los Angeles Chargers 
  
  
  
 Update (8:40 p.m. ET): For the Sunday night game, a large portion of Oakland Raiders sat for the anthem: 
  
 Advertisement 
  
 While several from Washington kneeled, and others locked arms—including owner Dan Snyder: ||||| Asked his opinion of the protests, Zaccaria said: “I don’t support it. I understand what they’re trying to get at, I just think there are better ways of expressing yourself. I feel like if the media didn’t make a big deal of it — I remember that for years and years they didn’t show the anthem — and now all of a sudden this is an issue. “I feel like if you just let these guys do their thing and we could all move on.” — Bill Pennington 
  
 ■ Twin brothers Alex and Jackson Hatch, 12, from Loves Park, Ill., were outside Ford Field in Detroit before the Lions played the Atlanta Falcons: 
  
 “I will respect the players more if they do kneel, because they are doing what they feel is right to do,” Alex said. “I know about what Colin Kaepernick is doing, he started kneeling a long time ago. Maybe the others are doing it to be with him too.” 
  
 “I do not think it is a bad thing for people to kneel, they are showing what their rights are,” Jackson said. “It might look weird or something during the national anthem but that should be O.K.” — Joanne Gerstner 
  
 Kaepernick Offers a Subtle Reminder of Why This All Started 
  
 As President Trump, the N.F.L. and the nation waged a fierce debate about the appropriate nature of national anthem protests, the man who started that debate, Colin Kaepernick, was nowhere in sight. 
  
 Instead, Kaepernick spent part of his day retweeting messages about the protests and photos of players who warmed up for their games in “#IMWITHKAP” T-shirts. But he also highlighted one that raised a point largely absent in this weekend’s discussion: that Kaepernick’s protests were never about President Trump, but instead an effort to raise the issue of racial injustice. 
  
 Kaepernick’s anthem protests began during the 2016 preseason, under a different president and largely unnoticed at first, in the wake of several high-profile incidents in which black Americans were killed during interactions with police officers. Initially, Kaepernick protested by sitting down. 
  
 “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” he told NFL Media at the time. |||||
A:
In the wake of President Trump calling for the firing of NFL players who protest during the national anthem, such protests increased by more than 2,000%. The AP reports more than 130 players sat, knelt, or raised fists for the national anthem during Sunday's day games; last week it was six players. Players on numerous teams—including the Dolphins, Browns, Patriots, Broncos, Saints, Eagles, Giants, Chargers, and Jaguars—knelt, according to Deadspin. Protests came from stars like Travis Kelce, Von Miller, and Lesean McCoy (who called Trump an "asshole" a day earlier). "There ain't no dividing us," the Baltimore Ravens' Terrell Suggs said. "I guess we're all son-of-a-bitches." Protesting players were met with a mix of boos and applause from fans. Three teams—the Seahawks, Titans, and Steelers (with the exception of US Army veteran Alejandro Villanueva)—stayed in the locker room or tunnel for the anthem. "As a team, we have decided we will not participate in the national anthem," the New York Times quotes the Seahawks as saying in a statement. "We will not stand for the injustice that has plagued people of color in this country." An NFL executive says the teams will not be fined despite violating a league rule requiring they be on the sideline for the anthem. Singers of the national anthem in Detroit and Tennessee took a knee, and some Miami Dolphins players wore shirts reading #IMWITHKAP during warm-ups. For his part, Colin Kaepernick tweeted a reminder that his protests were never about Trump but about racial injustice in the US.