The NFL is in big trouble.
Anti-American protesters took over the sport and turned games into displays of how much they hate the United States.
But one new poll shut down the protesters.
During week three’s games, 180 players protested the national anthem.
In week four, that number dropped dramatically.
Last week, about 180 NFL players didn't stand for the National Anthem. This week? 11. pic.twitter.com/L1NAIXKyZx
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 1, 2017
While that number did rise slightly as the 4PM games started, there was a noticeable decrease in anthem protests during the games.
Why did this happen?
The players and teams quickly realized the fans were turning against them.
Protests in week three were met with thunderous boos from hometown fans who were disgusted by the anti-Americanism exhibited by the players.
And one poll found the devastating impact the protests had on the game.
A Yahoo Finance poll of NFL fans found that a whopping 62 percent planned to watch less NFL football.
Yahoo reports:
“Is it a passing storm or an existential problem? That’s a key question for the NFL as it grapples with the mushrooming controversy of players kneeling in protest during the national anthem, and President Donald Trump’s persistent bashing of the kneelers.
A new Yahoo Finance poll suggests the NFL has an enduring problem on its hands. Nearly 62% of 9,056 respondents told us they plan to watch less pro football in response to the anthem controversy. Thirty-six percent said they plan to buy less NFL merchandise, and 32% have chosen not to attend a game they would otherwise have gone to. Those findings all have financial implications for the NFL and its 32 team owners.
We wanted to limit our survey, conducted online via SurveyMonkey from Sept. 28-29, to people who patronize the NFL, and exclude people who have an opinion but don’t watch football. So we only counted answers from people who describe themselves as pro football fans. Eighty-eight percent of respondents said they watch at least one game per week, with 46% of those saying they watch more than two games.
(Here are the full survey results. The number of responses varies from question to question because some respondents skipped questions or were directed further down the survey based on answers they gave. A note about the results: In Question 9, 80% of respondents said they plan to watch less football on TV. But that’s only among people who answered yes to Question 8, asking if they have changed their behavior. When including the people who answered no to Question 8, the portion saying they plan to watch less football drops to 62%.)”
The NFL player’s anti-American anthem protests are bad for business.
NFL owners, players, and league executives are looking for a way out of this mess.
But as Trump tweeted, the only real solution for the league is to have their players stand and honor America.
