With the NFL season about to start where will you stand if the players won't--for the National Anthem, that is? Last year a lot of NFL fans found other things to do when players started "taking a knee" when the National Anthem was being played. They used as their excuse their First Amendment rights and many in the media supported them. The First Amendment has nothing to do with it--these guys are "at work" and their service is to their customers who pay through the nose to come watch them play. Ticket prices alone in the NFL are HUGE and bringing a family of four to a game costs a small fortune, it could be a $500 outing when you pay to park, eat concessions and buy the kids much of the stuff they desire. What's the thanks to the fans mostly who love America. No guys--YOU'RE AT WORK! My boss tells me that when I'm outside our studio and interacting with other personnel to keep my political thoughts and opinions to myself. Same here--you can protest off the field and use your handsome salary to fund your causes or support them. But respect the flag and respect your country and quit ticking off your customers--those are the folks who are in the seats in case they've forgotten..
Their excuse is, of course, that they are not protesting the flag or American necessarily. Well sorry, perception is reality and it sure looks like it. And the typical reaction from the NFL and that less-than-brilliant commissioner Roger Goodell who ignored it at first and then pretended that it wasn't a big deal. It seems that if your viewership is dropping, ESPN is losing so many viewers they're laid off a couple of hundred workers, including top anchors over the last year or so and there are a lot more empty seats on gameday there's a problem. "Clueless" Goodell blamed the presidential race but if he did some research (and it wouldn't take much) he'd see that we've had presidential races before and it hasn't affected the ratings one iota. Week 4 of the 2016 season saw an 11-percent drop in viewership--that a chunk and something the league should be disturbed about. Not Roger--he is living la vida loca with his handsome salary, including the owners foolish enough to not only keep him on but give him a huge pay raise. Imagine how much he'd be making if he was doing a good job?
Yet, while denial ain't just a river in Egypt, a Rasmussen study that same year revealed that one-third (32%) said they were "less likely to watch an NFL game" due specifically to the players taking a stand by taking a knee protesting the National Anthem. But apparently that didn't phase the league in the least since they came out with this: "There's no evidence that concern over player protest during the national anthem is having any material impact on ratings. In fact, our own data shows that perception of the NFL and its players is actually up in 2016. They can put all the lipstick on that pig if they want to and perhaps that works on a planet far, far way in another galaxy but not on Earth.
So the owners and "Clueless" got together and came up with the perfect answer to the problem. Let those who want to protest stay in the locker room till after the anthem! BRILLIANT!!! This is the leadership you get for the $35 million a year or so he gets including bonuses and the private jet (hopefully a Gulfstream). Yes, since he took over the league revenue has increased but if the players and the league doesn't know it's killing the proverbial "goose that laid the golden egg" they and dumber than even I thought they were. My sympathy goes to the concessionaires who are losing revenue when they plan for 80,000 fans and only 60,000 show.
To the NFL players--as usual, it's not against the law to be stupid but quit abusing the privilege and it has nothing to do with your First Amendment rights!