Will we see players kneel?

[GMDino]

https://www.sbnation.com/2017/9/28/16378334/donald-trump-nfl-claims-fact-check

Quote:Donald Trump's latest NFL claims need some fact checking
President Donald Trump is taking shots at the NFL again. It’s a handy way of a giving people something else to be mad about in the hopes they might not notice the ham-fisted response to the devastation in Puerto Rico, a Russia investigation getting uncomfortably close to the White House, his failed political endorsement, his poor response to the diplomatic crisis with North Korea, etc.

Besides being a distraction, his latest volley, from a taped Thursday morning appearance onFox & Friends, includes a handful of incorrect facts, if not outright lies, that are worth correcting.

Claim: Ratings are way down
Ratings are down, but there are many factors, and the latest fan experience survey from J.D. Power suggests that it’s not because of protests. And nearly 203 million fans tuned in for at least part of one NFL game last season, which was a 5 percent increase over 2015, according to Kevin Draper of The New York Times.

While ratings are down overall, other factors — news coverage of the election cycle last year and of hurricane devastation early this season, viewers cutting the cord, and excessive commercials and game delays — are also key reasons for the decline.

Claim: Attendance is way down
While there have been some high-profile situations where stadiums haven’t been filled, particularly for the two Los Angeles teams, attendance hasn’t slagged off significantly. In fact, overall attendance for every NFL game this season is on pace for a total of 17.8 million, up slightly from 17.7 million the year before, according to Pro Football Reference’s data.

It is true that owners are constantly trying to find ways to get more people into the stadiums — it’s been a league-wide goal for several years now — but it’s not accurate to say attendance is “way down” as the president continues to claim.

Claim: Players “can’t dance in the end zone”
Players can not only dance in the end zone now, but they can even choreograph celebrations with teammates and use the ball as a prop. This is new for this season after the NFL decided to relax its rules penalizing players for celebrating. But it’s absolutely allowed.

Claim: Players can’t wear pink socks “relative to breast cancer”
The league’s rules governing uniforms are strict, and if a player wants to wear pink socks, they’ll be fined unless it’s October. That’s breast cancer awareness month, since broadened for overall cancer awareness, and the NFL goes pink pretty much from head to toe.

Claim: NFL owners are afraid of the players
This is one of those blustering aspersions Trump has made part of his brand, although far less offensive than some of the things he’s said in the past. Look no further than the collective bargaining agreement from 2011 to see just how much leverage owners have over players.
Owners came out with a big win over players in the CBA. Add in facts like the NFL is still the only major pro sports league with guaranteed contracts, an arbitrary discipline process that ultimately rests with the commissioner, etc., and it doesn’t take a Congressional investigation to realize who has all the power in the National Football League.

Claim: The NFL should enforce “a rule that’s been in existence for a long time”
There is no NFL rule that requires players to stand for the national anthem. In fact, teams weren’t even on the sidelines for the national anthem until 2009. The game operations manual says players “should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking.” (Emphasis added.) The league said last year that players were not required to stand for the national anthem, standing by players’ rights to express themselves.

It’s worth noting here that Trump’s Attorney General, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, was at Georgetown University earlier this week to defend free speech on college campuses, where he said “freedom of thought and speech are under attack.”

Sessions also said: "In this great land the government does not get to tell you what to think or what to say."

Claim: The NFL is disrespecting the flag and the national anthem
These protests have never been about the flag, the national anthem, law enforcement, or the military. The demonstrations are focused on racial inequality, police brutality, and oppression of people of color in the United States.

Colin Kaepernick decided to kneel during the national anthem last year as a sign of respect, which was the result of a conversation with former U.S. Army Green Beret and NFL player Nate Boyer.

If precedent holds, these won’t be the last of the president’s attacks on NFL players and teams. That makes it even more important to keep the facts straight.

Not that Trump's supporters care if he's right or honest but just in case someone had questions....