The only African-American member of Donald Trump's cabinet has promised to "work" the president on his continued criticism of athletes who don't stand for the national anthem.

Ben Carson, who serves as the U.S. government's Housing and Urban Development Secretary, voiced his belief on Monday that sports stars are protesting police brutality rather than disrespecting the flag when they take a knee. He wants the players to make that stance clear while he tries to persuade the president not to be upset with those who choose not to stand.

"Well, I don't think he has manifested as much animosity in that region lately. And I think we just continue to work him. He'll get there," Carson told the Hugh Hewitt Show, as quoted by the Associated Press' Kevin Freking.

Carson was speaking after U.S. Soccer last Wednesday annulled a policy which required players to stand during the national anthem. Over the weekend, Trump tweeted he "won't be watching much anymore!" in response to a tweet by Florida Republican representative Matt Gaetz, which read: "I'd rather the U.S. not have a soccer team than have a soccer team that won't stand for the national anthem."

U.S. Soccer introduced the rule that players must "stand respectfully" in 2017 after soccer star Megan Rapinoe knelt before a match with the United States women's national team in September 2016 out of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. The then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback had refused to stand for the flag of a country that "oppresses black people" for the first time in an NFL preseason game the previous month.

In the wake of protests over anti-black racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd in police custody, U.S. Soccer retracted its policy because it "was wrong and detracted from the important message of Black Lives Matter."

FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, reiterated its stance against "all forms of discrimination" in a statement released to the Associated Press' Rob Harris on Monday. The organization also appealed for "tolerance, mutual respect, and common sense" following Trump's words against his country's soccer program.

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Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL) released a joint statement Monday confirming restricted locker room access as a preventative measure against the coronavirus.

"After consultation with infectious disease and public health experts, and given the issues that can be associated with close contact in pre and postgame settings, all team locker rooms and clubhouses will be open only to players and essential employees of teams and team facilities until further notice," the statement read.

"Media access will be maintained in designated locations outside of the locker room and clubhouse setting. These temporary changes will be effective beginning with tomorrow's games and practices.

"We will continue to closely monitor this situation and take any further steps necessary to maintain a safe and welcoming environment."

Each major sports league is currently in the midst of its regular season, with the exception of MLB. The organization remains committed to playing out the remainder of its spring training games and intends to begin the regular season on its scheduled date of March 26, ESPN's Jeff Passan reports. However, that stance is dependent on how the epidemic develops.

Further plans to address the coronavirus are understood to be the subject of discussion in an NBA conference call on Wednesday. A few NHL teams were already limiting media access to help combat the spread of infection, and MLS set up a task force last week to keep up to date with news on the virus and inform clubs of appropriate measures to reduce its risk.

The United States has confirmed more than 650 cases of the coronavirus, including 26 deaths, as reported by NBC. The Canadian government has confirmed 72 cases, while the National Post published news of the country's first death due to the outbreak on Monday.

Across the world, there are more than 108,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 3,800 deaths, according to CNN. Italy is the worst affected country in Europe, resulting in travel restrictions for its 60-million population and postponement of all of its sporting events.

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