The National Football League has blamed other sources, but a new Yahoo Sports/YouGov poll shows protests against the National Anthem are the top reason some people have stopped watching their games.
The poll of 1,136 people nationwide who said they are NFL fans, 29 percent say they are watching fewer games, while 27 percent say they are watching more. But the 2 percent difference in those watching less and more does not represent a net loss of 2 percent viewership, Yahoo reports.
Most of those who say they are watching fewer games cited the National Anthem protests by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and others. Kaepernick has remained seated as the National Anthem is played before games to protest what he views as police brutality against African Americans.
Here are the top reasons given by respondents for cutting back on their game-watching:
- Protests: 40 percent;
- Lack of opportunity to watch NFL: 31 percent;
- Lost interest: 28 percent;
- Presidential election: 17 percent.
That 40 percent who say they are watching less is a total of 12 percent of all NFL fans, according to Yahoo. A Yahoo survey in September showed 44 percent of all fans said they would stop watching if the protests did not stop.
Still, the percentage of fans who support and who disagree with Kaepernick have remained steady since September.
According to the survey, older fans are more likely to cite the protests as their reason for declining viewership, and more white fans than black said they oppose the protests.
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