NFL Made A Business Decision
National Anthem: NFL Made A Business Decision
Jeremiah Short, Freelance Journalist
Roger Goodell — with the approval of all 32 NFL owners — banned players from protesting the National Anthem. At least in public. (Players can stay in the locker room.)
Are they legislating free speech? Are they catering to Donald Trump? Are they being patriotic?
Maybe.
The ban has more to do with two numbers: 85% and 51 %.
85 percent represents the loss of white fan viewership the NFL lost in 2017. 51 percent is the number of adult men 18–49 who follow the NFL closely (Down from 75% percent in 2013).
They had to stop the bleeding.
Many are upset by the NFL’s decision. But something had to be done. You can’t ignore numbers, because they don’t lie.
The NBA didn’t ignore them.
When the Malice At The Palace damaged the NBA’s image, they were forced to act. And act they did. They created a policy that required their players to wear suits. It was controversial, but it was the right decision.
The NBA’s image was repaired, and the league’s popularity is at an all-time high.
The optics of these decisions aren’t the best. White owners telling a majority Black workforce to behave in a certain manner.
But here’s a truth: They’re businesses.
Employees in a business environment must adhere to dress codes, standards and rules.
Why are pro athletes, who are employees, any different?
These policies are racist. Baseball players, who white, don’t have to do this stupid stuff.
There’s some validity to your argument. But the New York Yankees, the MLB’s most storied franchise, requires ALL players to be clean-shaven and presentable.
And don’t forget that when MLB had its little PED (Performance Enhancing Drug) problem, they commissioned investigations and changed their policies, as well.
Due to those report’s findings, several all-time greats (Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemons), will never gain admittance into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The only surprising thing about the NFL’s decision is that it took so long.
Colin Kaepernick started the protest in August of 2016 and the NFL enacted a policy in May of 2018. That’s almost two years.
I’ll give the NFL a bit of a break, though. Kaepernick’s protest couldn’t have happened at the worst time. The country was amid the #BlackLivesMatter movement and Trump’s Make American Great Again campaign.
The former 49ers’ quarterback’s silent protest turned into a very loud one. He instantly became the face of #BlackLivesMatter movement and the symbol of everything wrong with America.
Is that fair? Probably not.
Because I doubt Kaepernick meant for his protest to gain so much media attention. If he planned it out, then it would have made more sense to wait until he was healthy and starting at quarterback for the 49ers. (He was recovering from off-season surgery at the start of the protest.)
The protest did become an issue. And other players, even white ones, joined him. The focus was no longer on the actual game…It was on the pre-game and which players would kneel before it.
After the game, players weren’t asked about a key first down, they were asked: Are you going to protest? How do you feel about the protest? Do you think players should keep protesting?
Eventually, Kaepernick recovered from his injury and replaced Blaine Gabbert as the San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback.
The team didn’t win many games, but he performed admirably: Throwing for 2,241 yards and 16 touchdowns, to go along with a 90.7 rating.
Good stats but not Take-Your-Team-To-The-Super-Bowl stats. So, NFL teams had a decision: Sign Kaepernick or make an example of him.
They chose the latter.
Without the face, the protest’s impact waned. And in a goodwill gesture, the NFL donated 100 million dollars to social-justice causes of the Players Coalition, who were led by Malcolm Jenkins, in hopes that they’d voluntary stand for the anthem.
Not every player agreed with donation.
In an interview with Slate, Eric Reid, Kaepernick’s friend and former teammate, criticized the agreement: “Roger Goodell is trying to make this as easy for the owners to agree to as possible so that — again, their goal is to end the protests, Reid said.
“He’s trying to make it as easy possible to do that for the owners. He’s going to present them with a proposal saying, look you really don’t have to do anything. We’re just going to shift this money from this area and just move it here.” (It was conveyed to Reid by Jenkins that the money would be moved from Breast Cancer Awareness to their causes.)
The donation was accepted. Eric Reid became a free agent. He remains unsigned.
Now, the NFL has reached the decision to fine teams if one of their players kneels in protest of the anthem.
Is it fair? Does it make sense?
No.
But it’s BUSINESS.
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