The NFL Backlash Continues: Sunday Night Football Ratings Tank Again

by Sierra Marlee | October 2, 2017 7:18 pm

Despite the fact that most of the players in the National Football League have resumed standing for the National Anthem before football games, NFL ratings continue to tank. This isn’t really surprising, as you can only kick a dog so many times before it runs away for good.

This Sunday saw a continuing decline in ratings, down about 10% from last year and 2% in total from this same week last year. Presumably this is the response to the massive protest that saw around 200 football players kneel during the anthem. Why? Because they were upset that President Donald Trump wanted them to stand and respect the country.

I know, how terrible.

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Sunday Night Football is quickly becoming something that conservative Americans want to avoid, despite their love of the game.

You remember that the man who began these protests, Colin Kaepernick, also wore socks that depicted police officers as “pigs,” a commonly used and derogatory slur. Americans are rejecting this message, specifically in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting in which police officers were killed and wounded trying to get people to safety. I would like to hope that the players with hearts larger than their egos would recognize this kneeling as an inappropriate gesture and would stand and while the anthem plays, think about all of the men and women in uniform who give their lives to protect people like them.

This might generate new outrage if – after seeing this – players continue to kneel and show disrespect toward this country.

The NFL is a major societal force. People love the game, they love their teams and they love the players. They don’t want to find something else to do with their Sundays if they can veg on the couch and watch some sort of entertainment and cheer for “their guys.” Unfortunately, the NFL is now asking people to choose between their love of the game and their love of country. What they are finding out is that millions of Americans view the NFL as expendable and are more loyal to their country than they are to their team.

This could easily be fixed by the NFL enforcing their rules and demanding players stand for the anthem or lose their contracts. Whether it’s prompted by patriotism or by fear of losing their seat on the gravy train, they are setting an example for kids who watch the game and will stand.

Let’s hope common sense wins out over some misplaced sense of “societal duty.”

Endnotes:
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