“I want the best person [in the White House], and I’ll pick the one who’s most like the way I feel,” NFL Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw said in 2020. At that time, Donald Trump was serving the final year of his term as the 45th U.S. president. It was the same year Bradshaw became a registered Independent.

Since then, the 78-year-old has maintained political neutrality and believes in evaluating candidates individually and not aligning with any political party. However, with Trump now in his second year as the 47th president, Bradshaw admitted that maintaining that silence has become challenging.

Speaking on The Rich Roll podcast, Terry Bradshaw said, “I can’t believe that we live in a world where we have a leader that insults people. God, I have a hard time with that. Insults women. God, I have a hard time with I and it just and I’m so afraid to say it.”

“It makes me shake my head. And I’m in a position, as a matter of fact, I’ve never said any of this before, because you know why? Because if you pick a side, you lose the other side. There are 350 million Americans, and if you split them down the middle, that’s 175 million, right? Yeah. If I don’t want to lose 175. Of course not.”

According to Bradshaw, he doesn’t want to alienate his audience. As a sports personality with a broad audience, he knows that political commentary can separate people who disagree with his opinion. This was a major reason he made the transition from a registered Republican who supported the GOP to a registered Independent.

“I’ve been a Republican, but now I’m a registered independent. I don’t want to alienate anyone, and the minute you say, ‘I’m a Democrat’ or ‘I’m Republican,’ you’re kicking off the other side,” Bradshaw told BJT Online in 2020.

But even though Bradshaw believes in being neutral, there was an instance where he chose a side. In 2017, the Hall of Famer spoke out in favor of NFL players who protested during the national anthem. It started with former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sitting and later kneeling during the national anthem in the 2016 season.

As the season progressed, almost 200 players joined in by either sitting or kneeling. In response to this, President Trump gave a harsh speech to get those players fired.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that [expletive] off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’” the president had said.

After those remarks, Bradshaw addressed them on FOX NFL Sunday, calling out Trump on the pregame show.

“It’s hard to believe I’m going to say something about the most powerful man in the greatest country of the world. I was somewhat surprised that the president came out attacking NFL players for them exercising the freedom of speech,” Bradshaw said in September 2017.

“While I don’t condone the protest during our national anthem, this is America. If our country stands for anything, folks, what, it’s freedom. People die for that freedom. I’m not sure if our president understands those rights, that every American has the right to speak out and also to protest.”

For Bradshaw, the issue is about preserving the ability to disagree without abandoning mutual respect. Athletes, broadcasters, and entertainers depend on audiences that span the political spectrum, and many choose silence over controversy.