Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Former Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa will no longer tweet about Donald Trump and has deleted past posts in support of the United States President, but it's not necessarily because he has changed his political views.
ESPN's Kevin Van Valkenburg recently asked Bosa why he wanted to abandon something he had previously embraced.
"I had to,"
Bosa responded. "There is a chance I might end up in San Francisco."
TMZ Sports, which is how we learned of the ESPN feature, states that Bosa has in the past backed President Trump's criticism of players who kneel during the national anthem in protest of social injustice, including former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who he
once called "a clown."
"As the combine drew near, though, his online behavior grew increasingly bland," ESPN reported.
San Francisco is a very liberal city, and the 49ers have expressed a great deal of interest in Bosa. The majority of experts believe the edge defender will become the No. 2 overall pick in a couple of weeks. Bosa decided to distance himself, at least for the time being, from politics on social media.
President Trump, of course, was very vocal about his stance on protesting during the national anthem. He spoke during a campaign rally in 2017 and said NFL teams should fire kneeling players.
"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners," said President Trump, "when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out. He's fired. He's fired!'"
The controversial comments didn't sit well within some NFL circles,
including 49ers CEO Jed York who called them "callous and offensive comments."
Kaepernick was no longer on the team at that point but safety Eric Reid, who continued his protest, was. Head coach Kyle Shanahan was also critical of President Trump's comments.
"I was pretty bothered by it,"
Shanahan said in September of 2017. "I think the same way most people were. I think I've got a lot of regard for that position. I have my whole life. It's a very important, big position to be the leader of our country and when you hear something like that, it definitely bothered me, especially when he's calling out people that you're associated with.
"The most bothersome thing is how everyone sees that position in our country, and you expect that position to be the best leader possible, and when I think of being a leader, I think of bringing people together. All I know is the quotes I read, and when I read those quotes, I think that's the opposite of what you're expecting."
Bosa is scheduled to have dinner with the 49ers on Wednesday night and will tour the team's facilities, including Levi's Stadium, and meet with team decision-makers on Thursday.
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