Liberty Planet – When quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided to protest the National Anthem, Americans took a knee on the NFL. Ratings and revenue have sunk for the first time in decades – and it appears no one is learning their lesson.
The now-unemployed San Francisco 49ers signal caller expressed a level of disdain for the flag and what it stands for in an interview after launching the anthem snub.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick reportedly told NFL Media. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
But many Americans have expressed outrage at the manner of Kaepernick’s’ protest, not necessarily his message. Police officers in the San Francisco Bay area initially threatened a protest of their own, not providing game security. In the end, officers fulfilled their duty to community safety. Military personnel and veterans have also taken great exception and view sitting during the National Anthem as an affront to their service.
But the greatest protest may not be the NFL millionaires on the sidelines. NFL fans have hit back by tuning out and not supporting the league through ticket sales.
Americans Withhold Millions
The Sporting News and Forbes reported that the NFL has lost millions in revenue as a result of player protests. Last season, as many as one-third of TV viewers tuned out because of the Kaepernick-led anthem snub.
The decline in NFL viewership is unprecedented in recent years. Fans have been tremendously attentive and enthusiastic for decades, with the exception of the 1982 strike season when replacement players took the field. The league had previously expressed that the ceiling of TV rating had not been fully enjoyed. The addition of Thursday night and overseas games were adding revenue until the Kaepernick issue arose.
The major problem for NFL owners is not just Kaepernick. The anthem protests spread to the majority of team sidelines and are impacting fan support nationwide. Some players have chosen to raise a fist or sit in the rear on a bench. Many fans simply see a bunch of spoiled millionaires that are disrespecting the flag, as well as the very country that provided them opportunity and made them wealthy.
Former Players Speak Out
Several prominent former NFL players have been brave enough to push back in their own industry.
Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown led the charge by stating that the sidelines of an NFL game are not an appropriate forum. He’s on the record pointing out that such actions hurt the game while doing little to further awareness about social injustice. Other former players have been critical of the sideline issues as well.
Former Oakland Raiders running back Clem Daniels called the flag snub “just a lot of grandstanding.” Daniels was one of two dozen players that boycotted the 1965 AFL All-Star game after experiencing racism in New Orleans. Players joined with existing organizations such as the NAACP. The game was moved to Houston and had real impact on the national discussion about race in America.
Poor Role Models
Adults have seized on the issue to impose their views on susceptible youths. In Illinois, the Cahokia Quarterback Club did not stand for the National Anthem in connection with the riots in St. Louis. The 8-year-old children were featured on ESPN. While coaches and several parents appeared to support the protest, the move angered parents across the country that see it as manipulating children.
A reasonable person should understand that 8-year-olds are not well enough informed to make this decision.
During the 2016 season, Chesterfield, VA, coaches were disciplined for leading a similar youth anthem snub. Parents were furious that their children would be taught to disrespect the flag and their country in this fashion — and that highlights the chain reaction that football fans are having. Once the Kaepernick-style snub infects the actions of youth leagues, it’s time to tune out and invest passion and dollars in other things.
Perhaps the ultimate slap in the face was Cleveland Browns players not standing saluting the flag. Last season, the team won only a single game. Ticket sales hit an all-time embarrassing low. “Fans” could purchase a seat for as low as $4, and enjoy an end zone view for $10. They stayed home.
No NFL team has signed the former 49ers quarterback this season. While certainly talented enough to make a roster as a backup, owners understand the bottom-line consequences. If you hire the man that started American sideline disrespect, fans will find something else to do on gameday.
SF Source Liberty Planet Sep 2017
This whole plague against the flag and America’s freedom is a hard slap in the face to real American’s. How about if Kaepernick and the others involved in this “stand against America”, had to enlist (no exceptions), in a branch of the service and fight overseas for several years? I’ll bet when they returned (if so), the situation would be handled.
Better yet, if they would come to know God, our savior, this country would be a much better place. People would have no reason to turn their noses against anyone/anything.
Let Trump handle this, plus, let’s turn back to God and bring America back to her knees.
It would seem natural for fans to take offense with player stand on an issue (especially so when the stand is in opposition to fans’ views) yet waning ‘rank & file’ fan support could be the result of a multitude of reasons including…
*Sports arenas designed to pack as many bodies as possible into one space.
*Inconvenient game-scheduling designed to accommodate broadcasters.
*Exorbitant franchise ticket-pricing and vendor price-gouging.
*Player salaries in the millions for less than a year of employment.
*Player over-the-top participation in year-round advertising.
The list could conceivably go on and on and it would appear that sport enterprise in general could benefit from a few rounds of of mirror gazing.
Hi Rose, you make good points. However, all of the things you mention have been going on for years and have NOT had the precipitous decline in attendance and TV ratings that has occurred since the NFL decided to attack the American flag – the country’s national and international symbol.
This is all part of the Soros agenda. It started with Colin Kaepernick, whose girlfriend is high up in the BLM movement. The NFL is also likely getting money from certain foundations to promote this garbage.
Question – where were the protests when Barack Hussein Obama was in the WH? This Kaepernick crap started August 14 last year, less than 2 months before Obama was shown the door. It also paralleled the beginning of the decline in viewership when the Trump/Clinton debates actually gave them a run for the money.
Trump was right to call them out when he did. He has lanced a boil that will no longer be able to seep the energy from America via a full frontal assault on her flag with NO SPECIFIC POLICY REASON to do so therefore NO SPECIFIC FIX to implement to stop it.
When Americans protested the Vietnam War it was something that could be stopped. It was stopped and the protests stopped. When Rosa Parks sat in the front of the bus to make a point her action resulted in Blacks being able to sit wherever a seat was available on a bus.
When Kaepernick challenges unfair treatment of blacks what is the “unfair treatment” to be remedied? Is it the black gangs in Chicago shooting fellow blacks? Likely not. It is not focused on anything that can be specifically targeted and ended.
That’s why Trump had to nip this cancer in the bud before it metasticized into the loss of American national identity globally – the true aim of these protests.