Why The NFL Can’t Win The PR War Against Trump (4th Update)

Hard core democrat Colin Kaepernick wearing his cops are pigs socks

UPDATE The NFL went full on stupid a week ago, with even owners and coaches disrespecting the flag and the national anthem, and now we are seeing the results!

The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released this week shows that the league’s favorability has fallen from 30 percent on September 21 to a low of 17 percent only a week later.

The poll takers said that this month’s numbers are the lowest favorability ratings the poll has ever measured since it first began polling on the question.

When is NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and these team owners going to figure out that their customer base is made up of proud Americans who are very unhappy with all of this?

The drop of 13 points in a single week coincides with the mass protests seen across the league during Week 3 of the NFL season.

The drop also coincides with criticism of the league offered by President Trump who said on September 22 that he hoped NFL owners would fire players who stage protests during the playing of the national anthem.

The poll also found that only 35% of respondents believe the league has a positive impact in the community. That is a 10% drop since September 13. Clearly, the protests are overshadowing all the charity efforts sponsored by the league, the teams, and individual players.

The Morning Consult poll is far from the only poll to find that trust in the NFL’s brand has taken a hit.

Also this month, a Rasmussen poll found that fans are 34 percent less likely to watch the NFL because of the constant protests against the national anthem.

The NFL has taken a long slow hit for a year now since Colin Kaepernick started all of this with his stupid 2 minute antic that he calls a protest.

Last year, Colin Kaepernick did so much damage that the NFL had to refund its advertisers because of a fast drop in viewership. At one point, ratings dropped to levels not seen since the 70’s.

NJ Mega Car Dealer pulls NFL ads

In response to the ongoing controversy surrounding NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, the owner of Flemington Car and Truck Country has pulled the dealership's ads from broadcasts of games for the remainder of the 2017 season.

"The National Football League and its owners have shown their fans and marketing partners that they do not have a comprehensive policy to ensure that players stand and show respect for America and our flag during the playing of the national anthem," Steve Kalafer said in a statement. "We have cancelled all of our NFL advertising on the Optimum and Infinity (cable) networks."

Kalafer is also part of the Somerset Patriots' ownership group, an independent professional baseball team based in Somerset County.

"As the NFL parses the important nationwide issues of 'social justice' and 'freedom of speech,' it is clear that a firm direction by them is not forthcoming," Kalafer said in the statement.

Advertising during the 2018 season will be considered at a later date, he said. Representatives of Optimum and Xfinity could not be reached for comment as of Monday night.

Both cable companies and representatives of Kalafer would not disclose the advertising rates the car dealer pays during NFL games.

09/27/17 Allan Jones, CEO of Hardwick Clothing and Check Into Cash payday loan company, announced on Tuesday he is through with sponsoring the wardrobes and advertising on the NFL.

Hardwick Clothing is America’s oldest suit maker.

In his statement Jones said, “Our companies will not condone unpatriotic behavior!"

Two years ago, Cleveland, Tenn., businessman Allan Jones was proudly showing off his newly acquired Hardwick Clothing-brand suits by providing the wardrobe for NBC’s on-air talent during the network’s broadcasts of NFL football games.

But after NFL players and coaches challenged President Donald Trump and many took a knee during the national anthem played before their games over the weekend, Jones said he is through sponsoring the wardrobes or advertising on stations that air the National Football League.

Jones, CEO of the payday lending chain Check Into Cash and owner of Hardwick Clothes – America’s oldest suit maker – tweeted his criticism and change of heart Tuesday.

Trump and Brian France. Will the kneeling players be the NFL's ultimate demise?

09/26/17

A new poll shows that the clear majority of Americans agree with President Trump’s stance on the NFL, with even a majority of Democrats and African-Americans thinking that players should stand for the national anthem.

The Remington Research Group asked Americans, “Last week, Donald Trump said NFL players should stand and be respectful during the national anthem. Do you think NFL players should stand and be respectful during the national anthem?"

64% of respondents said yes, 25% said no and 11% were unsure.

Even Democrats said players should stand for the anthem at a ratio of 43%-41%, while African-Americans agreed they should stand 48%-37%.

Almost double, 60% to 31% said there was a “more appropriate" place to demonstrate than during the national anthem at the beginning of NFL games.
The poll also illustrated how Americans are sick and tired of having politics injected into absolutely everything.

When asked, “In the future, would you prefer to see more politics, less politics, or the same amount of politics during sporting events?," 80% wanted less politics, with just 7% wanting more politics.

With 51% to 19% saying they had watched less football this year, the vast majority – 69% – said it was due to “Players using the NFL as a stage for their political views."

The poll also found that far more people had a favorable view of Donald Trump (46%) than of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (12%).

The American people have spoken. They are sick of being bombarded with social justice and identity politics and they are tired of seeing overpaid privileged brats disrespecting the anthem and the flag.

Alejandro Villanueva

09/25/17

Football fans across America were clamoring for the jersey of Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva on Monday, a day after the former Army Ranger broke team orders by being the only player to come out of the locker room for the national anthem.

Villanueva, who stood alone while "The Star-Spangled Banner" was being played Sunday in Chicago, currently has the #1 selling jersey on the NFL’s web store, ahead of top players including Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr.

“Like I said, I was looking for 100 percent participation, we were gonna be respectful of our football team," Tomlin said when asked about Villanueva ignoring the order and coming out for the anthem.

Tomlin added the intent was to have his team focus on the game and not President Trump’s comments blasting players who chose to protest during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

“Many of them felt like something needed to be done. I asked those guys to discuss it and whatever they discussed that we have 100 percent participation or we do nothing," Tomlin said after the game. “They discussed it for an appropriate length of time and they couldn’t come to an understanding, so they chose to remove themselves from it. They were not going to be disrespectful in the anthem so they chose not to participate, but at the same time many of them were not going to accept the words of the president."

Villanueva, who served three tours in Afghanistan, decided to stand his ground instead and placed his hand over his heart while the anthem played. He has not spoken publicly since Sunday's game.

One of Villanueva's teammates, Cam Heyward, said "we support our guy Al.

"He feels he had to do it. This guy served our country, and we thank him for it," Heyward told ESPN.

Tomlin said Sunday that the team is not "politicians" but "coaches and professional athletes.

"If those of us or individuals choose to participate in politics in some way I’m going to be supportive of that. But when we come out of locker rooms, we come out of locker rooms to play football games."

There appeared to be some confusion in the Steelers locker room after Villanueva came out of the tunnel for the anthem.

Offensive tackle Chris Hubbard told Penn Live that the players, by a slim majority, voted in favor of staying off the field instead of standing on the sideline holding hands.

"We thought we were all in attention with the same agreement, obviously," linebacker James Harrison told the website. "But, I guess we weren't."

Hubbard, however, said everyone in the locker room accepted that Villanueva would be exempt from the team's decision.

"Al was cool with it, with whatever we went through. He was on board. That's Al, man," Hubbard said. "He's a good guy."

Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe also told ESPN he would be standing during the national anthem Sunday because he wanted to be "paying tribute to the men and women who have given their lives for our freedom."

"I stand because I respect the men who died in real battle so I have the freedom to battle on the field…but everyone these days likes to find a reason to protest and that’s their right," Wolfe told ESPN, according to The Washington Post.

Villanueva has previously spoken out about former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit and kneel during the national anthem, saying his actions may “send the wrong message."

“I don’t know if the most effective way is to sit down during the national anthem with a country that’s providing you freedom, providing you $16 million a year…when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for less than $20,000 a year," Villanueva told ESPN in 2016.

He added: “I will be the first one to hold hands with Colin Kaepernick and do something about the way minorities are being treated in the United States, the injustice that is happening with police brutality, the justice system, inequalities in pay. You can’t do it by looking away from the people that are trying to protect our freedom and our country."

NASCAR crews always lineup for the flag and national anthem out of respect for our country and our military. The NFL ingrates should leave the country.

09/25/17

Many NFL players across the league took the knee during the playing of the national anthem. Others stood with their arms folded. The Pittsburgh Steelers refused to come on the field until after the national anthem was played. Many fans booed the players. Other fans vowed not to watch any more NFL games. This all came in response to President Trump attacking NFL players who had previously taken the knee during the playing of the national anthem and calling for owners to fire them. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell responded as did owners all criticizing the President’s remarks. The protests spread to other sports as well. But is this a PR war that the NFL can win? How should they be responding to this? How costly could this be for the NFL?

Able to discuss this and more is David E. Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision PR Group, a leading public relations and branding agency. Johnson specializes in crisis communications. He says that this is a PR war that the NFL cannot win and they are walking into the President’s trap. He points out that many fans of the NFL disapprove of these protests and are supporters of Trump. He says that the players and owners are alienating their fan base by doing this. He says this was shown by the decline in NFL viewership last year. He says too, many fans don’t see this as a reaction against Trump and his remarks, rather the visual they see is one of disrespect.

Johnson says players haven’t done a good enough job in explaining their protests. Further he says the NFL runs the risk of alienating fans that could result in lost revenues with advertisers leery of paying high rates to advertise on NFL games for fear of alienating such a large segment of the population. He says this all comes as the NFL was still recovering from scandals and domestic abuse claims. Johnson says further it is hard for many people to have great sympathy for the players. He says the best thing the NFL could do is ignore the President’s remarks. Johnson has appeared on CNN, FOX News Channel, and CNBC for his expertise.

Fans nationwide are burning their NFL tickets: