Are Early NFL Ratings Down Because of the Kaepernick Boycott?

By BET

15 September 17

any of the hundreds of people who rallied for Colin Kaepernick in front of NFL headquarters last month called for a boycott of the league over its treatment of the free-agent QB, who remains jobless over kneeling during the national anthem last year as a stance against racism and police brutality of unarmed Black men. The "#NoKaepernickNoNFL" petition was even created on Change.org.

Well, early ratings for this young 2017 NFL season are in ... and they're down. According to Nielsen, the league's kickoff game between the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs last Thursday night on NBC registered 21.8 million viewers, which is down from the 25.2 million viewers last year's kickoff game drew.

Yet, as pointed out by Ambrosia For Heads, mainstream media outlets didn't mention the Kaepernick-motivated boycott of the NFL as a reason why in their respective stories about the league's drop in ratings early this season. Not CNN, SB Nation or Deadline. Shook ones?

There's even a CBS study, as reported by Sports Illustrated, claiming that protests on behalf of Kaepernick have contributed to this decline in NFL ratings. 

And people are encouraging a boycott of the NFL over Kaep.

Are mainstream media outlets scared to say that people are boycotting the NFL on behalf of its owners' treatment of Kaepernick?