Patriots, Falcons sidestep questions on President Trump

HOUSTON — On Monday, the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons appeared to be working from a similar playbook at Super Bowl Opening Night.

When asked about President Trump and his controversial action on immigration, players from each team punted.

“Well, I’ve been doing a lot of reading on it and I don’t think it really matters what I think,’’ said Nate Solder, an offensive tackle for the Patriots who was referring to Trump’s executive order that severely restricts immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. “I think that there are a lot of tough things going on in our world right now that are a lot tougher than football, but I am still a football player so I stay focused on what I can control.’’

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Dwight Freeney, a defensive end for the Falcons, pleaded ignorance. 

“You have to follow it to know it,’’ he said of Trump’s executive order that also temporarily halts U.S. refugee programs. “I don’t know enough about it and I haven’t followed it enough to know.

“I do know that, yeah, there’s some things that I wish wasn’t happening and I wish those families weren’t being separated and all that. But that’s all I can really answer on that question because I don’t know the facts and I really haven’t dug deep in those types of things.’’

Matthew Slater, a special teams star for the Patriots, took a more direct and efficient approach.

“Totally respect that question 100%,’’ he said, “but I’d rather not get into that tonight.’’

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