As more and more NFL players kneel during the National Anthem, more and more fans are getting angry. President Trump added fuel to the fire, saying the athletes should be fired.

More than 200 athletes knelt last Sunday, 23 percent of the players in the league. The entire Cowboys team knelt as a team before the National Anthem last Sunday, although they stood up before it started. Jordin Sparks, a black Christian woman, sang the anthem.

The Manual Says: Stand at Attention, Players

The NFL Game Operations Manual states that “During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking.” It continues that players and coaches should remember 

that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.

Although the rule wasn’t added until 2009, teams often previously stood during the anthem. 

Former San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick started the practice last year. Consequently, no team drafted him this year, even though he is a competent player. After Kaepernick refused to stand, the NFL issued this statement, “Players are encouraged but not required to stand during the playing of the national anthem.”

It’s not a First Amendment right, since the players aren’t acting in a public activity. They’re on the sidelines as their team’s employees.

The NFL hasn’t always permitted players to take political actions — at least not in support of conservative or patriotic causes. Last year, for example, the NFL forbid the Cowboys from wearing a decal supporting Dallas police on their helmets. The league also threatened to fine players if they wore commemorative cleats on the 15th anniversary of 911.

Former Patriot Matt Light said he was “ashamed” to see the Patriots kneel. He told The Boston Herald, “If you think that it’s OK to take a knee during our national anthem and disrespect openly the national anthem, you are wrong.” As a former player, he feels their kneeling is “beyond disheartening. It’s the first time I’ve ever been ashamed to be a Patriot. And I promise you I’m not the only one.”

Light attended the game next to the wife of a slain member of Seal Team 6.

The Backlash

The public reaction has been overwhelmingly negative. Some have expressed their anger economically. A Tennessee businessman, Allan Jones, pulled all his commercials for Check Into Cash, Buy Here Pay Here USA, and U.S. Money Shops during NFL games for the rest of the season. He posted on Facebook, “Our companies will not condone unpatriotic behavior! TAKING A STAND…NOT A KNEE!”

A Chattonooga restaurant owner said he will no longer play NFL games in his establishment. A national boycott is being organized for November 12, Veterans Day weekend. 

Colorado Christian University banned its student-athletes from kneeling during the anthem. NASCAR owners declared they would fire any race car driver who kneeled on Sunday. On Saturday, two top Eurocross riders stopped to hold their hands over their hearts while the anthem was played. A post on the American Legion’s blog expressed outrage that the players kneeled during the anthem on National Gold Star Mother’s Day. 

A J.D. Power survey in July found that 30 percent of the viewers who watched less football in 2016 than they did the previous season said they did so because they were offended by players protesting the anthem. Guggenheim Securities analyst Michael Morris said he’s not optimistic this season about viewership. Jefferies analyst John Janedis said that “CBS, ESPN, Fox and NBC will generate about $2.5 billion in NFL advertising revenue this season, but a 10 percent shortfall could translate to a $200 million cut in earnings.” The NFL is TV’s biggest draw. 

The favorability rating of the NFL dropped by nearly half according to a survey. Morning Consult found that the brand’s favorability dropped from 30% on September 21 to 17% on September 28. A Reuters poll found that 72 percent of Americans say kneeling during the Anthem is unpatriotic and 62 percent oppose it. Another 44 percent say they will quit watching. 

Brandon Tatum, a black Tucson Police Officer, was so frustrated by the kneeling that he made a video denouncing it. It quickly went viral. 

The Pressure is Working

The pressure is having an effect. Last night, the Packers and Bears stood arm-in-arm as teams during the anthem before their game against each other. The Broncos, the Cowboys and the Patriots have announced they will all stand as a team next Sunday during the anthem. 

Steelers Center Maurkice Pouncey said the Steelers will all stand on Sunday. He told reporters, “We love this country. It’s America. We know there are injustice in this world, but to me, personally, football is football and that’s what we need to approach it as.”

The Broncos issued this statement on Thursday,

We may have different values and beliefs, but there’s one thing we all agree on: We’re a team and we stand together — no matter how divisive some comments and issues can be, nothing should ever get in the way of that. Starting Sunday, we’ll be standing together.

A message from our players: pic.twitter.com/eQs3z7OcqV

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 28, 2017

The NBA issued a memo on Friday reminding basketball players of the rule that they must stand during the anthem.

Don’t Be a Kaepernick

Democrats are calling for all players to kneel at next Sunday’s game. It is doubtful the players will take this route. They’ve seen what happened to Colin Kaepernick and don’t want to lose their careers over injecting politics into football. Kaepernick started the protests last year and after declining to extend his contract with the 49ers has not been picked up by any other team.

They know a majority of their fans are colorblind conservatives who love their country. Fans associate the anthem with great things about America and the many men and women who served the country in the armed forces. Breaking an NFL rule that also offends the players’ fan base, destroying its viewership and hurting other players and NFL employees is not the right way to express dissatisfaction with black racial issues.

Kaepernick is no Martin Luther King, Jr. There are plenty of ways disgruntled players can express their opinions about black racial issues that don’t involve ruining the sport for millions of Americans who turn to football for a break from politics.  

 

Follow Rachel on Twitter at Rach_IC.