The National Football League knows that last season’s national anthem protests by quarterback Colin Kaepernick and other players turned some fans away from the sport. While the number may be a small percentage of overall fans, the league has grappled with how to approach the issue and the effect anthem demonstrations have had on its fan base.
A nationwide poll conducted by The Washington Post and University of Massachusetts Lowell found 19 percent of professional football fans say their interest has decreased in recent years. Among that pool of fans, 24 percent stated, in response to an open-ended question, that political issues had made them less interested in the sport, including 17 percent specifically citing the anthem protests or Kaepernick. That compares with 7 percent who mentioned injuries or violence in the sport as the reason they lost interest. CONT.
Adam Kilgore & Scott Clement, Washington Post