Why the national anthem protests are failing

The Week ^ | 10/8/2017 | Edward Morrissey

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

The NFL's players and owners find themselves trapped in a collapsing pocket of their own creation — and at risk of getting sacked by millions of fans across the country.

Two weekends ago, many team owners appeased their players by participating in national anthem demonstrations after President Trump's rather profane demand on Sept. 22 that owners fire any players who kneel. These demonstrations didn't go over well with many NFL fans — millions of whom are white, older, and conservative, and see any demonstration during the national anthem as fundamentally unpatriotic. So last weekend, some teams tried to innovate solutions — to no avail.

The New Orleans Saints knelt during the coin toss in their London game against the Miami Dolphins, which mostly puzzled fans. Were they protesting random chance? Baltimore Ravens players took a knee prior to the anthem, prompting a cascade of boos from their hometown fans who assumed that they would continue the protest through the performance of the song itself. Other teams stood — but demonstrated by linking arms and having statements read by the public announcer.

The nadir of this effort came on Monday night in Kansas City. The visiting Washington Redskins stood for the anthem, but three Chiefs players protested. Marcus Peters and Ukeme Eligwe sat on the bench, while Justin Houston knelt on the field. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, ESPN decided to carry the anthem live rather than sticking with pre-game analysis because of the mass shooting event in Las Vegas. The demonstrations infuriated many fans all over again.

Now obviously, millions of Americans are very much in favor of these demonstrations, which were originally intended to raise awareness of racial inequality, particularly with regard to minorities' treatment by law enforcement. But this is an extremely divisive issue — and millions upon millions of the NFL's core fans are furious.

The league's confusing and contradictory response to fan outrage demonstrates a lack of comprehension over precisely how they have offended their customers. Fan anger over the protests has eroded the NFL brand over the last year, but quantifying that has been complicated. The league has a number of issues that have contributed to that damage, including concerns over the long-term health of players, a perceived decline in game quality, and the NFL's mishandling of players' domestic violence incidents. The polling on protests has been almost universally terrible, however, and correlate with significant drops in ticket sales and television viewership since the 2015 season.

Owners seem to have assumed that fan anger was entirely focused on kneeling during the national anthem itself. In response, they pushed players to come up with different forms of demonstration — locking arms, kneeling just before the anthem, not showing up at all. None of it has calmed the fans' wrath, because none of it addresses the main points that have most angered them about the demonstrations.

First, the protests have become explicitly partisan. That isn't all the fault of the league and its players; President Trump criticized them sharply two weeks ago, telling a rally that the owners should fire anyone taking a knee. However, Trump was only responding to fan anger that had already built. Rather than simply responding in the press to Trump by telling him off, every team coordinated a massive demonstration during the national anthem that weekend, transforming a social protest that had involved fewer than a dozen players the previous week into an inescapably partisan demonstration.

NFL fans expect Sunday football to be an escape from the politicization of all things. There are many reasons for this — but a not insignificant one is that taxpayers provide publicly funded stadiums to billionaire owners and millionaire players for almost every team in the league. We are all footing the bill for NFL players' workplaces. Why should they become venues for partisan protest?

Furthermore, just as much as they value sportsmanship between competitors, fans value that moment of unity when we can put aside all of our agendas and come together simply as Americans. Any demonstration — kneeling, sitting, arm-linking — distracts from that unity. It steals that moment from fans, who wonder with some justification why athletes can't use their celebrity power to pick some other time for their protest rather than shove it down our throats after all the support fans already give these players and teams.

[P.O.E.]

I’m cutting my cable at the end of the month and telling them this is why.

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks. The hard task is selecting what to post out of so many great anti BLM/NFL mimes.

[I want the USA back]

Most people don’t hate the country. If the highly-privileged NFL’ers do, they can go to hell.

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks. It is one of my favs. It is such a large pict/mime, I can only post it by itself. People using smart phones and tabs have problems with the big pics.

[GAGOP]

Now obviously, millions of Americans are very much in favor of these demonstrations,

This one statement from the article shows the author is clueless.

[Grampa Dave]

Bud is such a crappy beer.

Shortly after I was graduated from college, I was in St Louis for a few months in my first job.

Ever since then, even seeing Bud commercials makes my stomach turn a little.

[Alberta's Child]

These "protests" are failing for three simple reasons:

1. They are aimed at people who don't give a sh!t about what they're protesting about -- mainly because they can't do anything to fix the problem (to the extent it even exists).

2. They are being carried out in a place where people gather for a completely discretionary activity. Protesting at a commuter train station during rush hour is one thing, but protesting at an entertainment venue is too easy for people to ignore just by staying away and turning off the TV.

3. There is absolutely no connection between what is being "protested" and who is involved in doing the protesting. A pro football player who protests about racism before an NFL game might as well be going to the North Pole to protest against clear-cutting rain forests in South America.

[willk]

“This “article” is an absolute crock.”

Not sure I follow you. Seems spot on to me.

[Future Snake Eater]

these demonstrations, which were originally intended to raise awareness of racial inequality

Oh, so it's about racial inequality. Except when it was about police brutality. Or except when it was about Donald Trump. These idiots (and this author is apparently among them) don't even know what they're protesting anymore.

Now obviously, millions of Americans are very much in favor of these demonstrations...and millions upon millions of the NFL's core fans are furious.

Terrible writer tries to have it both ways. "It's very popular, but it's not popular at all." Which is it, genius?

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Now obviously, millions of Americans are very much in favor of these demonstrations, which were originally intended to raise awareness of racial inequality, particularly with regard to minorities' treatment by law enforcement.

That sentence does not look right. Let me see if I can help.

Now obviously, less then a millions of Americans are very much in favor of these demonstrations, which were originally intended to raise awareness of racial inequality, particularly with regard to minorities' treatment by law enforcement. help the dumbest player in the NFL get in his girlfriends pants.

[GailA]

Vice President Pence Walks out of Colts vs 49rs Game
http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2017/10/08/vice-president-mike-pence-leaves-colts-game-over-protests-during-anthem/744277001/

[Trillian]

A bunch of criminals who hate the police, hate America and hate our military. This has gone on for far too long, people have had enough.

[poinq]

So the black players are not against the flag or America? They just are against the police, and the slave history of our fore fathers? Which sounds to me like they are against our flag and our country. And if they are not then why are they protesting during the nation anthem. Why not protest in front of a police station. Or a prison or something.

The reality is that Afro-American studies is a really stupid history of America. It leaves out the history of every civilization that did not have a surviving written history. Because if Africa had a surviving written history you would find that it, and every other civilization had slaves. You find them in Egyptian history and in the Bible and any other history that recorded the interactions with Africa. In fact, Africa still has slaves today. And it was true in Asia and even in American Indians. The Communist Manifesto rightly acknowledges that slavery is part of the evolution of all societies from caveman to capitalist. America’s history was different in that it was well recorded, and it jumped from slavery to capitalism without going through a few steps that Europe did, like feudalism.

Black NFL players often spent time in colleges they did not understand and took classes in Afro-American studies and coaching. Mostly because English and Calculus were too hard. Remember they did not get the ACT scores or the grades that the rest of the college class had to get to be accepted. Their degree means little and their understanding of America is just warped.

But for all their time in colleges that they did not belong in, they will get to be millionaires for a few years before they lose it all. Then they will get to spend time in rehab centers trying to live with broken joints and arthritis. And of course there are the kidneys, and liver which will be damaged by the drugs they took to bulk up. Its no wonder most black football players and several white ones too, live to their 60’s. Possibly they should be protesting the NFL and the colleges instead.

[Drew68]

I said early on that the protests were doomed. Once started, there is no positive path out without capitulation for the players and the league.

Yep. The league made a fatal mistake in not nipping this in the bud the first time it happened.

I don't know if the NFL ever recovers from this. There were a lot of guys like me who had grown tired of the thug behavior, the arrests, the drug use, DWIs, the taxpayer giveaways to thankless billionaire owners and see this as the final straw which to say, "I'm done watching football."

I haven't watched a single minute of play this season.

[Songcraft]

What a pile of crap!   Here are just a few examples of the stench of error in this "miss-all-the-points" article.

"The New Orleans Saints knelt during the coin toss in their London game against the Miami Dolphins, which mostly puzzled fans. Were they protesting random chance?" ----- FALSE! The fans were not puzzled. They knew exactly what was happening, and did not like it, no matter when it was happening at the game at that point.

"Baltimore Ravens players took a knee prior to the anthem, prompting a cascade of boos from their hometown fans who assumed that they would continue the protest through the performance of the song itself." ----- FALSE! The fans didn't assume that, and it makes no difference when they do that nonsense during the general game time, they will still get booed for it, because they are full of crap, and the fans do not like their idiotic, unpatriotic nonsense, no matter when they do it at the game from now on.

"Now obviously, millions of Americans are very much in favor of these demonstrations, which were originally intended to raise awareness of racial inequality, particularly with regard to minorities' treatment by law enforcement." ----- FALSE! It was a few dim-bulb players doing it in imitation of Colonoscopy Krappydork, who did it because he embraced the totally false narrative of "Hands up, don't shoot".   Then the big bunch of demonstrators joined in after Trump essentially said that the owners should not tolerate players stomping on our flag.

"First, the protests have become explicitly partisan. That isn't all the fault of the league and its players; President Trump criticized them sharply two weeks ago, telling a rally that the owners should fire anyone taking a knee." ----- FALSE! That's a bunch of bull. It is not Trump's fault at all. He was exactly right - these disloyal, treasonous thugs SHOULD be fired by the spineless owners. It is totally the fault of the players and owners, not Trump's fault. They should all be fired, and this writer should be fired too, for printing a bunch of false garbage here, and pretending it was all true.

[Billthedrill]

Spot-on analysis, IMHO. For one thing what they're "protesting" is a complete abstraction with nothing to focus on: protesting "war" is nowhere near as effective as protesting a specific war. For another, taking a great deal of trouble to show disrespect for flag and anthem and then stoutly denying that it's what you're doing is weak and nonsensical. At least Kaepernick admitted what he was doing. For a third, protesting "inequality" while raking in millions is so blatantly hilarious it doesn't even rise to the level of hypocrisy. Stupidity, yes.

NFL delenda est.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Yep, the gravy train is trying to stop before a cliff and is going way too fast.

[BobL]

“Now obviously, millions of Americans are very much in favor of these demonstrations...”
“This one statement from the article shows the author is clueless.”

Not really. There are some 40 million blacks in the country. I would be that a sizeable percentage of them LOVE what the players are doing.

Of course the problem, of course, is that something like 97% of the NFL’s budget comes from whites...and they’re not nearly as thrilled.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

The article doesn’t mention how that Professional Sports and the broadcasting and analysis thereof are some of our society’s most colorblind moments in our lives. People don’t judge one’s efforts or success because they are white or black, that is generally put completely aside in the NFL. But now identity politics and diversity are blatantly injected and demanded to be acknowledged right in the middle of something that had by design of the sport shunned such agendas. That was part of the “NFL magic” that Rush Limbaugh references when he says that innocence is now lost forever.

NFL execs should watch the movie, Invincible, and understand the difference between a player who identifies with the team’s fans, and players who reject identification with the team’s fans.

[editor-surveyor]

.
Polling is going 2:1 against the “demonstrations.”

“Progressives” love it, but functional blacks are embarrassed by them.
.