NFL Anthem Kneeling Protests Essay Example

Executive Summary

At the start of the 2016 NFL season, San Francisco 49er’s quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided to sit during the National Anthem. He started off by himself in a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, and was then joined by teammate Eric Reid the following preseason game against the San Diego Chargers. By the time the NFL regular season started, players from nearly every team were showing support for Colin Kaepernick and his message and protest whether it was by kneeling, sitting, or raising a fist in the air. These protests caused major damage for the NFL from the fans with attendance numbers decreasing, tv ratings decreasing, and Super Bowl viewership decreasing. This forced NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to make a statement and some changes on how the NFL would handle this situation. In the end, the NFL decided to give the players the freedom to protest the National Anthem, but have them do it off the field.

Background

The NFL (National Football League), is a professional football league throughout America, that comprises 32 teams across the country that compete every year for the coveted “Lombardi Trophy.” The teams span the United States from Seattle, to Tampa Bay. Each team plays 17 games ranging from September through January, and then the top team’s playoff against each other, climbing the ladder to reach the Super Bowl game. The NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA), but changed it to the National Football League in 1922. Football, especially the NFL, is by far the favorite sport across the country. In 2019, the average attendance for an NFL game was 66,151, and maxed out in 2016 with 69,487 fans [2]. The league rakes in billions of dollars per year from advertisements, TV deals, ticket sales, jersey sales, and much more.  

The Problem

The big kneeling controversy started on August 26, 2016 when the San Francisco 49er’s then quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat on the bench during the National Anthem of a preseason game versus the Green Bay Packers. It wasn’t the first time he sat during the National Anthem, but reporters noticed it. Kaepernick told the media, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” From that point on, the NFL was changed, and still is to this day [1]. Kaepernick kept on with these actions leading up to the 49er’s last preseason game of the year on September 1, 2016 against the San Diego Chargers where this time he was joined by 49er’s safety Eric Reid. On September 5, 2016, President Obama defended Kaepernick’s protest stating, “He’s exercising his constitutional right to make a statement.” On September 7, 2016, the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued his first public statement on Kaepernick’s protest stating, “I don’t necessarily agree with what he is doing, but I support our players when they want to see change in society.” Then on opening day 2016 on September 11, many NFL players followed in Kaepernick’s footsteps by either kneeling, sitting on the bench, raising a fist, or staying in the locker room during the National Anthem.

The protests had pretty noticeable effects on measurable statistics like viewers, and attendance at home games. Leading up to the protest, the average attendance to an NFL game was stagnant, going from 68,397 in 2013, to 68,216 in 2015. It peaked in 2016 with the average attendance of 69,487 and then dropped in the years following. In 2017, the average was 67,405, and got to 66,151 in 2019 before the covid pandemic [2]. The attendance had been increasing since 2009 and then hit the peak in 2016, which was the time of these protests. Fans didn’t want their favorite sport being politicized in these dividing ways, so many of them called it quits on watching all together, let alone attending the games.

This isn’t the only measurable statistic showing the popularity of the NFL drop. If you look at recent Super Bowl viewer numbers from the Nielsen report, you can see the decline in viewers after the 2016 season. In 2011, there were 111.01 million viewers recorded, which was a major increase from the year before. In 2012, there were 111.35 million viewers recorded, and jumped to 114.44 million viewers, which is the highest recorded number in Super Bowl history. It didn’t take long for the viewership numbers to tank for the Super Bowl, as for the 2016 Super Bowl, there were only 111.86 million viewers. The 111 million dropped to 98.19 million viewers for the 2019 Super Bowl and reached a 14 year low audience in 2021 with an audience of only 91.63 million viewers. With viewership numbers dropping, it affects the network companies because they know they can’t charge advertisers certain prices based on how many people will see the advertisement. Many people choose to watch the Super Bowl for the advertisements, and it’s the time of year when big companies drop millions of dollars on advertisements that they know millions of people will see and buy whatever product or service they are offering. If they know not as many people will watch their network, there won’t be as big of a demand as years prior when there was a bigger audience. 

The Response

In 2016, when the protests were going on, the official rule in the rulebook was that, “The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem. 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.” So according to this rule, Kaepernick was violating the NFL’s policy on what goes on during the National Anthem. Even though he violated the policy, there was no discipline for his actions. In an appearance on a show called “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,” Roger Goodell stated that, “We have never disciplined a single player for anything with the National Anthem and in violation (of the policy), and I don’t intend to, And I will support them.” So for all the violations of the policy, there was no discipline towards the players. To smooth things out, the NFL made a few modifications to this policy starting in the 2019 season. The policy allows those who wish not to stand for the anthem, to stay in the locker room, or a similar location off the field until after the anthem has been performed. With that exception, there is also the addition of fines for the club, and also the personnel if necessary. “A club will be fined by the League if its personnel are on the field and do not stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem. The commissioner will impose appropriate discipline on league personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem.” In the effort to smooth out the situation, the NFL gave the players the choice to protest if they wish, but they cannot afford to have players protest in front of this massive audience.

Evaluation

Thinking from a business perspective, I believe the NFL made the most appropriate choice, letting the players still protest, but keep it in the locker room. If they would have enabled the players to protest on the field like they were, they would’ve seen the same trend they were seeing before with loss of revenue and fans. But if they didn’t allow the protests altogether, that would have pushed away another segment of the audience and also some players in the league. In order to keep both sides somewhat happy, let the players protest, but don’t let the fans see it. They don’t want to see their beloved sports turn into a political statement. For most people, sports are the few things you turn to when you want to get away from the world and the news going around and just tune out for three hours and watch some crazy athletes bash heads. When they implement politics into it, the fans will be turned away, as they were.

Conclusion

The NFL at first didn’t know what to do to mitigate the damage caused on their business during these protests, which is why it took a little time, and a lot of help from outside sources on what they should do. 

[1] “Colin Kaepernick Kneeling Timeline: How Protests during the National Anthem Started a Movement in the NFL.” Sporting News, (Getty Images), 13 Sept. 2020, https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/colin-kaepernick-kneeling-protest-timeline/xktu6ka4diva1s5jxaylrcsse. 

[2] Gough, Christina. “NFL Average Attendance Regular Season 2020.” Statista, 1 Mar. 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/249372/average-regular-season-attendance-in-the-nfl/. 

[3] Fitzpatrick, Alex. “NFL League Rulebook A62 63 National Anthem Rule.” Time, Time, 25 Sept. 2017, https://time.com/4955704/nfl-league-rulebook-a62-63-national-anthem-rule/. 

[4] Written By Tadd Haislop @taddhaislop, et al. “What Is the NFL's National Anthem Protest Policy? Here Are the Rules for Kneeling in 2020.” Sporting News, (Getty Images), 20 Sept. 2020, https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-national-anthem-policy-2020-kneeling-protests/1o88fwivdxvqu1d8nnbiw5dw3z. 

[5] Nfl. “Roger Goodell's Statement on National Anthem Policy.” NFL.com, NFL, 23 May 2018, https://www.nfl.com/news/roger-goodell-s-statement-on-national-anthem-policy-0ap3000000933962.