An NBC-Wall Street Journal poll of 900 registered voters taken last week finds that 54 percent of respondents rate NFL anthem protests as inappropriate. In contrast, the overwhelming narrative of sports media is supportive of the protests, demonstrating once more that media are out of touch with mainstream American thinking.
The Washington Examiner's Emily Jashinsky reports that it's hard to get more than half of Americans to agree on "controversial political questions," but after two years of heated debate on anthem protests "most voters are on the same page." And most media are on another page.
Here's how the poll question was framed:
"When it comes to professional football players kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial inequality in the United States, do you consider this to be an appropriate way or not an appropriate way to bring attention to these concerns?"
Fifty-four percent of respondents said the protests are inappropriate, while 43 percent were supportive of the kneeling, sitting, fist raising and players staying in the locker room during the Star Spangled Banner. The margin of error for the poll was plus or minus 3.27 percentage points.
Jashinsky writes: "For all their arguments that the protests are patriotic, players have apparently still failed at convincing the public that it's acceptable to kneel during the national anthem (although they seem to have persuaded much of the media). Other polls have found similar results over the years."
One blog cannot present an exhaustive list of media supporting player protests, but here is a brief sampling of some of the most outrageous remarks media have made in support of protests:
In the early days of the NFL protests, in 2016, Fox Sports 1's Skip Bayless (see photo above) said on The Undisputed program: "If 68 percent are made uncomfortable (by the protests) ... good! Way to go, Colin (Kaepernick, who started the protests)! ... In the end, history will say this was a positive step for this country."
USA Today's Brent Schrotenboer wrote, "Standing for the national anthem is indicative of a fascist political philosophy that 'exalts nation and often race above the individual," and is symbolic of "a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.”
Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post wrote that protesters represent "the truer thinking American." And this: "Look at the anthem controversy in this light, and you can see why taking a knee so upsets a large segment of the audience: because it’s a denial of American exceptionalism."
The SBNation blog insists player protests "are NOT hurting ratings and driving fans away" and complained that "some people were angry" about the protests. "Instead of listening to the players about the actual issues involving systemic racism, they warped the issue into one about the military and the flag."
Associated Press sports writer Paul Newberry suggests the league's social justice warriors take drastic measures if Kaepernick and Eric Reid, former NFL players who kneeled and now are unwanted free agents, aren't signed soon: "Maybe a one-day sickout during training camp. Or kneeling en masse before the first game. Perhaps, as a last resort, they should consider an actual strike."
Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation magazine, wrote, "By taking knees during the anthem, the kids in the 'concentration camps' and the performers in the Adult Disneyland are doing more than showcasing a political resistance. They are brashly and boldly displaying an independence from what they are supposed to be doing."
The Undefeated's Jeff Rivers writes: "On Flag Day, the Most Patriotic Among us Should be Kneeling." He argues that athletes who kneel during the national anthem are patriots keeping America great. They "have stood tall for freedom and justice in this great land for you and me. Ex-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and those who have followed him have been among the standard-bearers for the nation’s highest and most enduring ideals."
The media is simply on the wrong side of history. Again.
