Colin Kaepernick & Other National Anthem Protests

FredHayek wrote: Colin Kapernick started his protests against the National Anthrm noyt by kneeling but sitting down like a spoiled child. The players only adopted the kneeling to look a little more respectful.

He did initially sit, but then he spoke with another player who was former military and after hearing his thoughts he took to kneeling from then on out to be more respectful. Kneeling is done when praying, and when someone is hurt - he feels that way about his country, and so did the others who joined him. I think it was good of him to solicit feedback and to change from sitting to kneeling, it shows more respect.

Ramage, these numbers don't indicate that attendance is "significantly down."
2017 attendance: www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2017/attendance.htm
2016 attendance: www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2016/attendance.htm

Trump's Mostly False claim that NFL ratings are 'way down'
September 24, 2017

NFL attendance has not been hurt by protests, but there is a simple reason why people should be skeptical of that for now
November 19, 2017

So far during the NFL season, there are no signs that attendance has been hurt by threat of boycotts in reaction to player protests during the national anthem. However, there are some simple reasons people should be skeptical of the numbers for now.

Through ten weeks of the 2017 season, the average attendance at NFL games is actually up slightly, from 68,914 per game in 2016 to 69,264 per game this season. In addition, while the home stadiums fluctuate each week, there is no obvious sign that attendance has dropped since the start of the season. In fact, the NFL had its highest average attendance of the season in Week 9 (continued below).

The true impact of the backlash this season won't be felt until the 2018 season, if at all.

TV ratings are a different thing, but you have to keep in mind that we had some serious disasters (Irma, Maria, wildfires, etc) at the beginning of the season that significantly impacted viewership.
The NFL can't seem to shake a season of sluggish ratings
by Frank Pallotta, CNN
October 18, 2017: 6:08 PM ET

NBC's "Sunday Night Football" through week six of the regular season is down 4% in viewership compared to last year; and the averages of Sunday afternoon games on Fox and CBS are down 7% and 14% respectively, according to Nielsen data. The NFL is down 6% overall this season and 16% in viewership compared to two seasons ago

There has been some bright spots for the league's viewership so far this season, however. Ratings for ESPN's "Monday Night Football" is up 6% from last year and "Thursday Night Football" on CBS and NFL Network has also seen viewership go up 14%.