Two groups of National Football League fans urged viewers to boycott Sunday’s games in honor of Veterans Day weekend, as the nation continues to grapple with the ongoing national anthem kneeling controversy.
Boycott the NFL, a Facebook page boasting more than 254,000 followers, urged patriotic football fans to skip watching Sunday’s games “in solidarity with veterans around the country.” The conservative watchdog organization 2ndVote also took a stance on Sunday’s games, requesting that football fans “stiff-arm the NFL” and send a “message” to its officials and sponsors by doing so.
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“We’re sending the National Football League, its corporate sponsors, and the television networks a message this Veterans Day weekend!” 2ndVote said Friday. “Americans are sick of the disrespectful national anthem protests that the NFL has not only allowed to continue, but has institutionalized in pregame ceremonies.”
“We are so grateful for the service of our veterans and active-duty military and for the flag they served under. In their honor, we are going to #STANDwithVets over those who engage in the inappropriate and immensely unpopular national anthem protests,” 2ndVote continued.
Noting that the NFL “is already feeling the financial consequences” of allowing the national anthem protests to continue, 2ndVote said, “We can make a HUGE statement this weekend” by turning off the games.
In addition, Woody’s Roadside Tavern bar in New Jersey announced it would not show Sunday’s games and would instead hold a fundraiser to honor veterans and their families.
“While it’ll probably cost us some money, we thought it was more important to stand with our veterans and send a message, however big or small it might turn out to be,” said Rob Johnson, one of the bar’s owners, NJ.com reported. “For us, it’s not a political statement— we’re here supporting our veterans on Veterans Day weekend.”
“[Veterans are] 100 percent behind the right to protest. That’s one of the greatest thing[s] about our country, but they just feel like [the players] take the national anthem, our flag, to a whole other level,” Johnson added. “If you want to protest, that’s fine. But veterans hold [the flag] in such a revered place in their hearts … They just feel disrespected.”
Fox 31 also reported that a local veteran in Colorado declined the Denver Broncos’ invitation to be honored at the Sunday game against the New England Patriots because of the ongoing national anthem protests.
Although players who often kneel are expected to make an exception Sunday in honor of veterans, the Washington Times reported that approximately 22,000 people plan to join the boycott, citing Facebook statistics.
Related: Roger Goodell: We Did Not Ask Players to Stand for the Anthem
President Donald Trump reignited the controversy back in September at a rally, when he blasted football players who choose to protest racial injustice by kneeling while the national anthem is played before their games. Saying that the “issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race,” Trump said in a tweet September 25 that “it is about respect for our country, flag and national anthem.” In other tweets, Trump said protesting players showed “a total disrespect of our heritage” and “a total disrespect for everything we stand for” by kneeling.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell angered many fans with his tepid responses to the controversy following a mid-October meeting with team owners and players. Although Goodell said he believes all players “should stand for the national anthem” to “honor our flag and our country,” he refused to require players to stand.
In response to the two groups’ calls for a Sunday game boycott, the NFL and the NFL Players Association released a statement saying: “There has been no change in the current policy regarding the anthem,” but players wouldn’t be required to abide by it and stand.
In addition, Goodell and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith pointed to an upcoming meeting to be held this week in which NFL officials and players will discuss “important social issues.”
“The agenda will be a continuation of how to make progress on the important social issues that players have vocalized,” Goodell and Smith said, as reported by the Times. “Everyone who is part of our NFL community has a tremendous respect for our country, our flag, our anthem and our military, and we are coming together to deal with these issues in a civil and constructive way.”
(photo credit, article image: Cam Newton’s First NFL Play, CC BY 2.0, by Cedward Brice)
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