These idiots will never get it so make sure you don’t forget next year.
The revolution will be televised, that’s the word coming down from NBC executives who say they will televise any player who chooses to protest the anthem during the Super Bowl.
“When you are covering a live event, you are covering what’s happening,” NBC Sports EP Fred Gaudelli told reporters at the Television Critics Association on Tuesday.
“If there are players who choose to kneel, they will be shown live,” he said.
Gaudelli explained that, if a player chose to protest during the anthem, NBC broadcasters Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth would likely give the players’s name, some background on the a protests, and then “get on with the game.”
According to Fox News, “The anthem will be aired live and is scheduled to be performed by Pink. Potential protesters will have an opportunity to make a statement in front of a massive audience, as 112.2 million people watched Super Bowl LI last season – the fifth most-watched program in television history.”
The NFL’s anthem protest movement began in the preseason of 2016, when then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sat, then knelt, in protest against police brutality. Kaepernick continued his protest throughout the 2016 season, but has not suited-up for another NFL team since walking away from his contract in San Francisco at the end of that year.
Despite Kaepernick’s absence in 2017, the protest movement he began continued without him. Increasing in intensity during Week 3 of the season, after President Trump blasted the protesting players at a political rally. During that weekend over 200 players, executives, and coaches, protested the anthem and President Trump.
However, after that weekend, the number of protesting players dwindled to the point where only 19 players protested in the final week of the season.
With the NFL’s Week 11 action wrapping up, it quickly became clear that football fans had found other things to do as thousands of empty seats could be seen in stadiums from coast to coast.
With TV ratings off nearly 20 percent over all and the networks already known to have lost up to $500 million in ad revenue, it is becoming clear that last year’s 12 percent decline wasn’t because of the raucous political season, a claim that served as the excuse for the 2016 season’s ratings loss.
The ratings slide is reflected in the skimpy attendance at the stadiums, too, with Week 11 photos showing that there are still empty seats galore.
To cite just a few:
As the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Denver Broncos, it appears that Denver fans stayed home from Mile High Stadium. Lots of unsold seats available:
The situation was no better in Cleveland at First Energy Stadium as the Browns got crushed both in attendance and by the Jacksonville Jaguars, 19-7:
The New York Giants may have toppled the Kansas City Chiefs in a 12-9 final, but fans weren’t there to see it at Met Life Stadium:
The Green Bay Packers apparently didn’t pack the stands as they got totally blown out by the Baltimore Ravens in a pitiful 23-0 final. But, the crowd at Lambeau Field was just as pitiful:
Accurate description for crowd at Hard Rock Stadium right now
Finally, the Houston Texans were able to beat the Arizona Cardinals 31-21, but were not able to fill seats as effectively:
With some analysts saying that the worst of the TV ratings fall may have peaked for 2017, the seats in stadiums are still going unfilled with only 6 more weeks of the season to go.
GQ Magazine has named former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick as its “citizen of the year.”
The GQ cover features Kaepernick, and says in the top right corner, “Men of the Year: The New American Heroes.”
The quarterback has not played during the current season since he opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers. His supporters have complained that he has not been signed by a new team as a result of his decision to kneel in protest during the playing of the national anthem.
“In 2013, Colin Kaepernick was on the cover of this magazine because he was one of the best football players in the world,” GQ said. “In 2017, Colin Kaepernick is on GQ‘s cover once again—but this time it is because he isn’t playing football. And it’s not because he’s hurt, or because he’s broken any rules, or because he’s not good enough. Approximately 90 men are currently employed as quarterbacks in the NFL, as either starters or reserves, and Colin Kaepernick is better—indisputably, undeniably, flat-out better—than at least 70 of them.”
Kaepernick has stated he began protesting in response to “systemic racism” and policing in the United States.
“He is still, to this day, one of the most gifted quarterbacks on earth. And yet he has been locked out of the game he loves—blackballed—because of one simple gesture: He knelt during the playing of our national anthem,” the magazine continues.
Linda Sarsour, the Muslim co-organizer of the Women’s March who has been accused of having “ties” to the Palestinian militant Islamist group Hamas and of romanticizing Sharia law, is cited by GQfor her views on Kaepernick.
“You are an American hero. You may not feel like a hero right now, but one day, people will realize the sacrifices that you made for so many others,” Sarsour said, directed at Kaepernick.
“There might even be a day when we’ll be walking down Colin Kaepernick Boulevard and people will remember what Colin Kaepernick did, just like we remember Muhammad Ali. And I truly believe that in my heart,” she added.
Fox Sports says they will not air any live anthem coverage from any other game except for the London contest between the Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints.
Last week, the network aired the national anthem from games as more than 250 players took a knee during the anthem to protest President Trump calling for NFL players to be fired for what he says as disrespect to the flag.
The Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks chose not to even leave their respective lockers during the anthem.
“As we have in previous broadcasts of NFL games from London, Fox will show the National Anthem as well as God Save the Queen live. As is standard procedure, regionalized coverage of NFL game airing on FOX this Sunday will not show the National Anthem live; however, our cameras are always rolling and we will document the response of players and coaches on the field,” Fox said in a statement.
The National Football League (NFL) may have more than a passing controversy on its hands as it continues to grapple with fans’ reaction to the players and staff “take a knee” protest during the national anthem before 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%.”
Boycott The NFL And Burn Their Jerseys!
But looking directly at results for each question on the survey also reveals that a majority of respondents said would watch less football and that they support President Donald Trump’s decision to speak out against the protests.
The raw data shows that when asked, “What has changed about your relationship with the NFL?” 80 percent said they will watch less football on TV because of the controversy and more than 53 percent said they are more supportive of Trump since his remarks last month that the protests are disrespectful to the U.S., its flag and the men and women in the military and law enforcement who sacrifice to protect all Americans.
In fact, 77 percent said they believe it is wrong for players to kneel during the national anthem — a protest begun in 2016 by a former NFL player who claimed he kneeled because of social injustice in the U.S.
It’s also noteworthy that 79 percent of respondents said they are a football fan, which Yahoo Finance explained is a statistic in keeping with its decision to only survey people who “patronize the NFL.”
“Those findings all have financial implications for the NFL and its 32 team owners,” Yahoo Finance reported.
Calling it “one of the most divisive social issues in recent years,” Yahoo Finance said of its poll:
“In our survey, we wanted to suss out whether the anthem flap could deal a lasting financial hit to the NFL. The answers suggest it could. When we asked fans if the controversy would make them more or less supportive of the NFL, 71% said less and only 15% said more. Of those who said they are now less supportive, 74% said their change of heart was permanent, and only 3% said they felt it was temporary.”
