As we head into Thursday night football and look to a weekend packed with more gridiron action — from college games to NFL matchups — it’s highly likely we’ll see more players taking knees and raising fists as the national anthem plays.

The Black Lives Matter protest started by Colin Kaepernick has been spreading weekly since he started it last month.

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High school players from Massachusetts to Michigan are also now following his lead, and entire teams are locking arms in a sign of solidarity.

In response, #boycottNFL popped up, a movement showing respect for the flag and for the patriotic song that is a sign of unity in the country. This week, in concerts, both Kid Rock and KISS have bashed Kaepernick.

Kid Rock denounced the player in his recent Fenway Park concert, dropping the “F” bomb about him in the middle of his song, “Born Free” — all as an image of the flag was shown behind on a giant screen.

And Paul Stanley of KISS said from the stage of a recent concert in Worcester, Massachusetts, “In case you didn’t know, this tour is called the ‘Freedom to Rock.’ A lot of times people that are born free think that freedom is free and it’s not. Freedom is only free because there are people willing to sacrifice to keep us free.”

He then led the audience in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and the band played a rock version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“You should remember, patriotism is always cool,” he said. “Loving your country is always cool. Standing up, respecting, and honoring our military is always cool.”

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Burn, Baby, Burn
Fans are burning Kaepernick’s jersey. That happened soon after the 49ers quarterback announced his decision to sit while “The Star-Spangled Banner” was played.

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Tune Out
Others boycotted by not watching the games.

The Thursday NFL opener last week, on Sept. 8, was a rematch between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers. Viewership was down 8 percent in the ratings compared to 2015; it was down 6 percent from 2014.

Was that drop due to a boycott of players sitting out the anthem? It’s impossible to know — but the lower numbers don’t lie.

On Sunday Night Football, the game between the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals saw a sharp decline — 18 percent — in the coveted 18-49 demographic compared to last year’s Sept. 13 opener. The game drew 16 percent fewer viewers than the 2014 opener. Add to that, on Sunday afternoon, CBS saw its lowest overnight season-opening rating in seven years.

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Fantasy Boycotting is Real
Fantasy football fans are striking back, too. One Washington, D.C., fantasy football team owner decided he could show his support for the anthem by trading or benching any player who has participated in the protest in real life.

“I’m exercising my right to boycott,” he told LifeZette. “Two other people in my league laughed when I told them — and now they’re doing it, too.”

Don’t Buy It
@DanChanda on Twitter figured he could try to have a financial impact.

“The NFL fines its players $15,000 for wearing wrong color socks, but won’t take a ‘stand’ on standing for national anthem?” he tweeted, and he followed up by canceling his DirecTV NFL Sunday ticket — something he’s had for 18 years.

Ted Cruz urged a bigger boycott, telling TMZ: “To all the athletes who have made millions in America’s freedom: Stop insulting our flag, our nation, our heroes. Here’s a peaceful protest: Never buy another shoe, shirt, or jersey of rich spoiled athletes who dishonor our flag.”

Celebs have even weighed in, too. Rob Lowe chided the athletes on Twitter, telling them to keep the protests out of the pre-game ceremonies.

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Lobby Goodell
The Freedom Alliance organization and its president, Tom Kilgannon, has sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell asking him to put an end to the national anthem protests. He’s urging the public to do the same.

But it’s not likely to do much good.

Goodell has already made it clear he is taking the players’ sides.

“We encourage our players to be active in their communities and to speak out when they see things that should be changed,” Goodell told The Washington Post Monday at FedEx Field before the Redskins-Steelers game.

“Yes, we want them to respect the flag. We want them to respect the military personnel. And I think that they do. But they’re all working to try to see how they can have a positive impact in their communities.”