Stuart Elliott: Ways for the NFL to Find Light at the End of the Tunnel

But the goose that laid the golden eggs all those years for the sponsors the NFL and the networks definitely looks as if it39s about to get cooked The imbroglio that began last season when players started kneeling sitting or raising fists during the national anthem threatens to erode viewership weaken ties between advertisers and the league and make the expensive rights deals to carry games less worthwhile for the networks or for that matter streaming services or social media platformsThe dispute has grown uglier in recent weeks after President Trump barged in with barbed tweets charging the protesting players with being disrespectful to quotThe StarSpangled Bannerquot the American flag and the United States military amp160He and his supporters keep calling what the players are doing a quotnational anthem protestquot which makes it sound as if the players are protesting the anthem which they39re not amp160They39re protesting police brutality injustice and racial inequality but that may be too fine a distinction for people who support the president or for those who maybe just want to watch a game without it becoming a you should pardon the expression political footballMatters only got worse last week when Bob McNair the owner of the Houston Texans was quoted by ESPN as saying the players39 protests are the equivalent of having quotinmates running the prisonquot amp160It would39ve been far less incendiary and far more accurate if McNair had said quotWe can39t have inmates running the asylumquot amp160That39s because so many folks involved with pro football these days are behaving like residents of a mental hospital They39re nuts for wreaking havoc on their livelihoodsI39m much more of a baseball fan than a football fan there are seasons when the Super Bowl is the only game that I39ve watched and then of course it39s to check out the commercials amp160Still TV coverage of the NFL provides so much grist for my mill that I39d hate to see the damage continue So what follows are five suggestions for how to try to resolve this vexing matter1 amp160Ask the NFL39s advertisers to meet with the protesting players and the owners who have sought to end the kneeling during the national anthem amp160It39s not too much of a stretch because more and more marketers have been taking stances on important social and political issues of the day amp160For instance ESPN reported that a major sponsor told the owners it would end its affiliation with the NFL if they ordered the players to stand during the anthem amp160And the Oikos Greek yogurt brand sold by the Dannon division of Danone chose sides after a spokesman the Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton made sexist remarks to a female reporter Dannon quickly dropped its endorsement deal with him and condemned what he said as quotdisparaging to all womenquot2 amp160Ask the networks that carry NFL games to run public service announcements during those telecasts that would be devoted to discussing the topics being brought up by the players amp160Whether those spots would advocate wholeheartedly for what the protesters are calling for or be more explanatory in nature could be decided by a committee of players and owners amp160If such commercials are approved they might be presented under existing network PSA umbrellaamp160campaigns such as quotCBS Caresquot and quotThe More You Knowquot NBCUniversal amp160Perhaps the networks39 game announcers and hosts can take part in them3 amp160Along similar lines each network that carries NFL games could devote 30 or 60 minutes on its schedule preferably before a game or in prime time to a town hall program that would give viewers a chance to be exposed to more than sound bites or tweets on the issues involved4 amp160The players and their union the National Football League Players Association could do more in the way of making the concerns behind the protests more tangible amp160They could follow the example of Chris Long defensive end of the Philadelphia Eagles who is not only outspoken on subjects such as the neoNazi march through his hometown Charlottesville VA but also announced that he would donate his entire salary this season 1 million to educational charities5 amp160It39s time for teams39 coaches to enter the fray and use their bully pulpits to talk back to bullies amp160The footballers might take a page from the playbook of the National Basketball Association and emulate the thoughtful thoughtprovoking comments of coaches such as Steve Kerr and Gregg PopovichNote Look for the next Stuart Elliott Report a quot20 Questionsquot column on Wednesday November 22Click the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers amp160amp160amp160amp160amp160amp160amp160

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Stuart Elliott: Ways for the NFL to Find Light at the End of the Tunnel

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Stuart Elliott: Ways for the NFL to Find Light at the End of the Tunnel

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