Sports and politics, two worlds that usually like to stay clear of each other, found themselves on a collision course when President Trump decided to take on both the National Football League and the National Basketball Assn.

The response from players and the NFL was akin to a benches-clearing brawl.

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Stanford professor emeritus William Gould IV, former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, can see such a divide between the commissioner and his bosses.

“I bet a lot of the owners, in fact, subscribe to everything he’s saying,” Gould said. “It’s remarkable that the players association and the commissioner, who have been at odds with each other on a wide variety of issues, can come together. [Freedom of expression] is such a basic point.”