NFL player compares his Achilles tear to 'illegal' deportations in bizarre remarks about LA protests
Dolphins guard James Daniels brought up the 'illegal' mass deportations occurring in the United States as he downplayed the Achilles injury he is recovering from.
Daniels, who joined the Dolphins this offseason, is working his way back from an Achilles injury suffered last fall while he was with the Steelers.
And when asked about his own challenges, he attempted to put things in perspective as he discussed the immigration raids in Los Angeles.
'I mean, I realize I'm in a great position,' he told reporters. 'You know, Achilles, yes it's unfortunate, but there are people in way worse positions, you know.'
'I think, like especially with what's happening in [ Los Angeles ], you know like people's parents, people's grandparents are being deported illegally, you know.
'Like, I don't have to worry about my mom getting deported or my dad getting deported or my wife getting deported, you know. And I've played a long time. I've made decent money. And so, there's a lot bigger issues that people have on their plate. So for me, going through an Achilles injury is pretty easy.'
Daniels is entering his eighth year in the NFL after stints with the Bears and Steelers.
He signed a three-year, $24million deal with Miami this offseason and has over $58million in career earnings, per Spotrac.
His comments come amid a week of mass deportations and subsequent protests in Los Angeles, with President Trump continuing his stern focus on immigration.
The president even deployed troops to the area as some rioters have lit cars on fire.
However, the Trump administration later pumped the brakes on its mass deportation agenda, telling ICE officials to pause raids on farms, hotels and restaurants,
The significant update was reported by the New York Times, who cited an internal email and three US officials familiar with the situation.
Trump also acknowledged on his Truth Social platform hat some of the deportations he's ordered has hurt industries in agricultural, hospitality and food sectors.
'Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,' he said in a Truth Social post on Thursday morning.
'We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!' he added.
Trump has received criticism in certain corners for his immigration crackdowns, though a large portion of Americans are on board with his policies.
A CBS News/YouGov poll conducted last week found that a 55 percent majority liked the goal's of Trump's deportation program, while 44 percent said they liked how he was approaching it.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
23 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Relentless Chelsea see chance to test evolving squad at Club World Cup
This is the never-ending season but Chelsea show no sign of wanting to slow down. They intend to embrace Fifa's newly revamped Club World Cup – a potential £97m prize pot for the eventual winners is quite the draw in an age of intense financial scrutiny, after all – and have travelled to the US knowing that the tournament gives them an opportunity to find out more about a squad that has evolved in the short space of time since Enzo Maresca's side beat Real Betis in the Uefa Conference League final on 28 May. There has been little time to pause for breath before Chelsea get up and running in Group D by facing the Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC in Atlanta on Monday. Some players have had a 10-day break, others have been away on international duty and there has been no sign of anyone in the recruitment department taking a bit of annual leave. The sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, have been busy assessing possible ins and outs. Joe Shields, the co-director recruitment of talent, has made his presence felt in the arrival of Liam Delap from Ipswich and the pursuit of the Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens. The pace is relentless. It speaks volumes that nobody raised an eyebrow at João Félix, who joined from Atlético Madrid for £45m less than a year ego, being left out of Chelsea's 28-man squad last week. The evolution is constant. Chelsea have shown decisiveness in their hunt for a new striker, moving swiftly to land Delap for the bargain price of £30m, while they have been clinical in other areas. They were right not to sign Jadon Sancho on a permanent basis, even though sending the winger back to Manchester United triggered a £5m penalty. Refusing to pay over the odds for Gittens and the Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan before the registration deadline for the group stages of the Club World Cup was also encouraging, especially as doing so was always going to be seen by more impatient supporters on social media as some kind of major negotiating fail. It is not as if the business has been limited to Delap. Space has been found in the travelling party for other newcomers – the 19‑year‑old goalkeeper Mike Penders, the 20-year-old centre‑back Mamadou Sarr, the 20-year-old midfielder Dário Essugo and the 21-year-old Brazilian prospect Andrey Santos, who developed well during a year on loan at Strasbourg, Chelsea's partner club. Meanwhile there will be eyes on Palmeiras's progress in Group A given that their 18-year-old winger, Estêvão, is joining Chelsea after the tournament and is seen by many observers as a future Ballon d'Or winner. A late call has also been made for Kendry Páez, the Ecuadorian prospect, to travel to the US to train with his new clubmates before joining Strasbourg on loan. This is a chance for Maresca to finesse patterns, improve old on-pitch relationships and develop some new ones. It is not ideal that Chelsea's Premier League campaign will be compromised if they go all the way in the US – the final is less than a month before the start of the domestic season – but there is no point grumbling about fatigue. The reality is that Chelsea, whose endurance will also be tested by participation in the Champions League, are where they want to be. The club's American owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, are hardly going to complain about involvement in a month-long Stateside marketing extravaganza. Can Chelsea go all the way? Formidable opponents await them in the latter stages but they should make it through Group D with something to spare. LAFC offer the familiarity of the former Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and the former Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud but both are past their best. Chelsea surely just need the right attitude. Further games against Espérance and Flamengo in Philadelphia look inviting enough. Yet the limited nature of the opposition will not stop Maresca from learning more about his players. There is scrutiny on the goalkeeping position following the move for Maignan, which did little to quell the impression that Chelsea will listen to offers for Robert Sánchez and Filip Jörgensen. Djordje Petrovic, meanwhile, is certain to leave after asking to be omitted from the squad. The Serbian goalkeeper impressed on loan at Strasbourg last season and wants regular football. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion The competition is fierce. Sánchez retains the support of Ben Roberts, the global head of goalkeeping, and did well at the end of last season but whether Maresca fully trusts him is less clear. Chelsea have options. There is a lot of excitement about Penders, who will probably start as the third choice after Marcus Bettinelli's move to Manchester City. The pressure to perform is clear. There is a battle for supremacy in attack. Delap, who scored 12 goals for Ipswich last season, has taken the No 9 shirt and will try to usurp Nicolas Jackson up front. How will Jackson respond? Talk of Chelsea looking to sign another striker raises questions over the Senegal international's future. There are few untouchables at Stamford Bridge. The list of players who can leave is extensive. There are the expensive castoffs who have been left behind and have no future at the club – players such as Raheem Sterling, Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Ben Chilwell and João Félix – and then there are those such as Noni Madueke. The winger was important for Maresca last season but some have misgivings over his development. Estêvão, who plays in Madueke's position, is coming. Geovany Quenda joins from Sporting Lisbon next year. This is the reality at Chelsea. They just keep going; the challenge is to keep up.
Rhyl Journal
26 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Donald Trump vetoed Israeli plan to kill Iran's supreme leader
The Israelis informed the Trump administration in recent days that it had developed a credible plan to kill Mr Khamenei. After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Mr Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move. The Trump administration is desperate to keep Israel's military operation aimed at decapitating Iran's nuclear program from exploding into an even more expansive conflict and saw the plan to kill Mr Khamenei as a move that would enflame the conflict and potentially destabilise the region. Asked on Sunday about the plan during an interview on Fox News Channel's Special Report with Bret Baier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not directly address whether the White House rejected the plan. 'But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we'll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States,' Mr Netanyahu said. Mr Netanyahu's office declined to comment on the reports. Mr Trump's rejection of the proposal was first reported by Reuters. It comes as the president issued a stark warning to Iran against retaliating on US targets in the Middle East while also predicting that Israel and Iran would 'soon' make a deal to end their escalating conflict. Mr Trump in an early morning social meeting posting said the United States 'had nothing to do with the attack on Iran' as Israel and Iran traded missile attacks for the third straight day. 'The U.S. had nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight. If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and… — The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 15, 2025 Iran, however, has said that it would hold the US, which has provided Israel with much of its deep arsenal of weaponry, for its backing of Israel. Israel targeted Iran's Defence Ministry headquarters in Tehran and sites it alleged were associated with Iran's nuclear program, while Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences and slammed into buildings deep inside the country. Mr Trump said: 'If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US armed forces will come down on you at levels never seen before.' Hours later, the US president took to social media again to predict that 'Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal'. The US president made the claim that he has built a track record for de-escalating conflicts, and that he would get Israel and Iran to cease hostilities 'just like I got India and Pakistan to' after the two countries' recent cross-border confrontation. Mr Trump also pointed to efforts by his administration during his first term to mediate disputes between Serbia and Kosovo and Egypt and Ethiopia. 'Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!' Mr Trump said. 'Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that's OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!' The growing conflict between Israel and Iran is testing Mr Trump, who ran on a promise to quickly end the brutal wars in Gaza and Ukraine and build a foreign policy that more broadly favours steering clear of foreign conflicts. Mr Trump has struggled to find an endgame to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. And after criticising President Joe Biden during last year's campaign for preventing Israel from carrying out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Mr Trump found himself making the case to the Israelis to give diplomacy a chance. His administration's push on Tehran to give up its nuclear program came after the US and other world powers reached a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement in 2015 that limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Mr Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday about the growing Israel-Iran conflict, and he is set to travel to Canada for Group of Seven leaders summit where the Mideast crisis will loom large over his talks with the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan and the European Union.
Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Macron sends blunt Trump a message as he lands in Greenland ahead of G7
French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a blunt message to Donald Trump by stopping in Greenland Sunday en route to the G7 – a massive territory the U.S. president says the nation 'needs.' Macron stopped in Nuuk, the same city visited by Donald Trump, Jr. and Vice President JD Vance in separate stops that alarmed some locals who favor moves toward independence or continued association with Denmark. And the French president, eager to flex his own as a European leader as Trump pulls back rhetorically from European allies and pivots away from Ukraine, did not hold back in his public comments. 'I don't think that´s something to be done between allies,' Macron said on a brief visit where he met Danish PM Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's PM Jens-Frederik Nielsen. 'It´s important to show that Denmark and Europe are committed to this territory, which has very high strategic stakes and whose territorial integrity must be respected,' Marcon added. Macron's visit comes as Trump prepares to land in a country where locals are equally adamant against his call to make Canada the 51st U.S. state. ''I don't think he's playing around. I think he has intent around it. I think I think he's smart enough to know that we need them more than they need us, and he's willing to do whatever it takes,' local electrical contractor Curtis Reynard told the Daily Mail. With great powers scrambling for influence in the Arctic, Macron has also said the deep seas are not 'up for grabs.' Trump has been blunt in his claims about the need to obtain Greenland, which has stores of rare earth minerals under its permafrost and a strategic location between North America and Europe. 'We need Greenland for national security and international security,' Trump said in late March as the situation escalated. 'So we'll, I think, we'll go as far as we have to go,' Trump added. 'We need Greenland. And the world needs us to have Greenland, including Denmark. Denmark has to have us have Greenland. And, you know, we'll see what happens. But if we don't have Greenland, we can't have great international security.' 'I view it from a security standpoint, we have to be there,' said Trump. Last week, Denmark's parliament approved U.S. military bases on Danish soil, explanding a 2023 agreement. Denmarks PM has said Greenland 'will never, ever be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone.' And early this year amid the pressure Denmark said it would pour $2 billion into Arctic defense. Last week Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers the U.S. had plans to invade Greenland or Panama if necessary. 'Our job at the Defense Department is to have plans for any particular contingency,' Hegseth said under questioning at a hearing. 'I think the American people would want the Pentagon to have plans for any particular contingency,' Hegseth added. The remarks prompted pushback from Alaska Senate Repulbican Lisa Murkowski. She told the Daily Mail she didn't 'think the Trump administration would like to buy Greenland once they realize what the price of Greenland would be.' Macron's trip comes after Trump and first lady Melania Trump viwed U.S. military might during a 250th anniversary Army parade that fell on Trump's birthday. It was during a trip to France to watch Bastille Day celebrations with Macon that Trump got the idea for a parade in DC.
