Sports

It begins. We suspect NFL owners, and their media lapdogs, may be about to start paying attention to what President Trump (and the fans of the game) are saying (and doing).

First, Bloomberg reported overnight that fans who agree with Trump shared lists of advertisers on social media networks while calling for boycotts along with hashtags like #PunchThemInTheWallet.

Richard Levick, a crisis communications expert, says the NFL deftly navigated the weekend’s challenges but expects no shortage of hazards ahead.

Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.com,

Frankly, in my view, the sporting world should be a politics free zone, and the fact that I am compelled to write about politics in sports in America today is bewildering beyond belief.

NFL franchise owners provoked quite a reaction on Sunday and Monday when they walked onto the field and locked arms with players – and, in some cases, kneeled (just not during the National Anthem) – in a demonstration of defiance to President Donald Trump, who late Friday night picked a fight with both the NBA and NFL by first disinviting the Golden State Warriors to the White House, then labeled any NFL player who kneels during the anthem a “son of a bitch” for “disrespecting our heritage.”

In the latest sign that viewers are turning out in droves over the politicization of professional sports, the Associated Press reports that through the first three weeks of the NFL season, viewership for national telecasts of NFL games is down 11% compared with 2016, Nielsen company said on Tuesday. While games had averaged 17.63 million viewers during the first three weeks of last season, that number has dipped to just 15.65 million so far this year. 

In the latest sign that the backlash to NFL players kneeling in protest during the National Anthem has been more damaging than players, owners and the league officials had expected, Baltimore Ravens National Anthem singer, and combat veteran, Joey Odoms has announced that he’s resigning just days after about a dozen Ravens players took a knee before a game against the Jaguars in London, the Baltimore Sun reports.

“We greatly appreciate the work Joey did for us and we thank him,” said Ravens senior vice president of public and community relations Kevin Byrne.