Athletes Taking A Knee Is Damaging The NFL's Revenues And Popularity Among Americans

Athletes Taking A Knee Is Damaging The NFL's Revenues And Popularity Among Americans

October 17. 2017

Colin Kaepernick taking a knee. He is currently searching for a new NFL deal but many teams are reluctant to sign him. Kaepernick has sued the NFL and all its team owners, alleging collusion.

The National Football League (NFL) and The National Basketball Association (NBA) are two major sports leagues in America. Football players in the NFL have been taking a knee during the national anthem to protest social injustice by select police officers, who engage in excessive force. This entails bending on one knee while the American national anthem plays, rather than standing with one's hand over one's heart.

The U.S. Constitution proclaims America a free country. Therefore, athletes are allowed to take a knee. However, it is greatly damaging the NFL's popularity with Americans, including those in the military, who are boycotting it over athletes taking a knee during the anthem. Ticket sales/attendance and ad revenues have fallen in a noticeable way. Some Americans are taking great exception to athletes taking a knee during the anthem. It is being interpreted as an insult to the anthem.

Colin Kaepernick is trying to make a difference but his actions are being misinterpreted as he is in essence protesting during the anthem, which is offending many

It was more appropriate when the Cowboys football team held hands during the anthem this month to show solidarity among the races. The NBA and NFL have been very good to black people. What good is harming the NFL going to do. I know the athletes are not trying to harm the league, but that is what is inadvertently happening. The NBA and NFL are not the problem. The problem is police brutality by select police officers, targeting black people in America. Select racist police officers engaging in violence against black people are the problem. All cops are not bad. Let's not lump in the bad with the good. Society needs policing to keep order. It is more important to tackle the problem that create new ones in sports sales declines.

Athletes need to attend and participate in televised town hall meetings on the subject. It is good to discuss societal problems with the goal of finding solutions. As stated in past articles on the site, the main way to address the terrible issue of police brutality is through legislation on a federal level from the U.S. Congress. Athletes need to request appearances in Congress to discuss the issue, with the hope it will move the legislature to upgrade federal law to prevent police brutality. America has the highest police brutality rate in the West. This must change. Here are a few suggestions I wrote on remedying the matter regarding legislative changes: Congress Needs To Enact Legislative Guidelines Regarding Police Brutality.