The NFL is suffering the backlash of players refusing to stand for the National Anthem from millions of upset fans who have decided to respond with demonstrations of their own by boycotting games at stadiums and tuning out the games on TV.
After months of ongoing controversy, the devastating impact on the NFL is evident with emerging pictures on social media of stadiums with vacant seats throughout the league.
#TNF RT @GradickSports: This was taken in the 4th Quarter of tonight’s #Falcons game. A LOT of empty seats. pic.twitter.com/tsgLZvCfUt
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) December 8, 2017
Still lots of empty seats at 27,000-seat #Chargers Stubhub Center 10 minutes before game time. Lots of orange in the stands pic.twitter.com/a6SNPNJCX7
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) December 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/ChuckNASCAR/status/919950581942378496
The Washington Times reports:
Plagued by sagging ratings, player protests and fan outrage, the NFL has thrown a political Hail Mary by reportedly agreeing to dole out millions of dollars to two social justice groups connected to Democratic billionaire George Soros.
Under an agreement with the Players Coalition, NFL owners plan to funnel tens of millions of dollars to the Dream Corps, a leftist advocacy group led by former Obama adviser Van Jones and linked to Mr. Soros, which has called for saving the Clean Power Plan, cutting the prison population by half and providing “sanctuary for all.”
The $89 million, seven-year deal also carves out millions of dollars for the Players Coalition, according to ESPN, which has been advised by Soros-funded groups such as the Campaign for Fair Sentencing of Youth and the Center for American Progress, a leader of the anti-Trump “resistance.”
NFL spokesman Joseph Lockhart stressed Monday that there has been no final decision on the agreement.
“No decisions have been made on where the money will go yet, much less all the money over the next 7 years,” Mr. Lockhart said in an email. “Those decisions will be made by the working group that has not been formed yet.”
Still, there is no guarantee that the hefty payout will solve the league’s public relations woes.
The bargain is aimed at addressing the social justice concerns that have led players to sit or kneel during the national anthem, but nothing in the deal requires players to stand.
In fact, two of the most dedicated protesters — Eric Reid of the San Francisco 49ers and Michael Thomas of the Miami Dolphins — have vowed to keep kneeling and described the deal as inadequate.
Meanwhile, details of the bargain emerging in the past few days have stunned conservatives.
“If this is how the NFL plans to bring back the millions of Americans who are fed up with the players’ antics and anthem protests, then the league just fumbled the ball,” said Robert Kuykendall, a spokesman for 2ndVote, a conservative corporate watchdog group.
“Why would any conservative spend another dollar supporting the NFL if that dollar will be directly funneled to left-wing activists like Van Jones?” he asked.
The agreement distributes funding for both local and national efforts. On the national side, the owners agree to pay $73 million over seven years, with 25 percent earmarked for the United Negro College Fund and 25 percent to the Dream Corps.
The remaining 50 percent would be controlled by the Players Coalition, which has filed for 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status, as a fiscally sponsored project of the Hopewell Fund, which is managed by Arabella Advisors, a major player in the environmental movement.
Any agreement would need to be approved by the owners at the annual league meeting in March, according to ESPN.
Read the full story here.
