POLL Will the NFL teams boycott the game openers or first few games?

[Shaggy]

I think politics should have no place in professional sports. Fans watch the games for entertainment and not to have a political message shoved in their faces.

Totally agree but most players feel this is their only way to push what they believe in. I feel its hurting their cause more then helping it.

I know several people that havent even watched any games in any sports this year, and they were die hard sports nuts. I bet there are a ton more out there that are doing the same thing.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

The problem is that the sports media and social media who proclaim how stunning and brave they are isn't what most regular people feel and it tricks these athletes into thinking they have more sway with the public than they actually do.

I think your spot on with this. People watch for the action and if it isn't forth coming they'll find some other way to entertain themselves. All these messages are like the commercials , folks tune them out and if they get too intrusive they lose interest. Nobody watches for the sales pitch, it's about the action.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

I am seeing all the flack that NHL is taking this morning for not boycotting their playoff games, and being called a "white privilege league."

I'm pondering whether the NFL teams will also boycott the game openers and possibly even more games, since we are only a short time away from the start of the season.

What do you all think?

As an actual leftist, I thought that was really embarrassing and it was extremely predictable that the NBA "boycott" (really a strike) would likely die very quickly. We'll see if that changes, but lot of supposedly woke people showed their asses with the praise of the NBA players. I know the mods don't like politics being dragged onto the actual sports forums with good reason, but I just want to point this out.

 

[Rambunctious]

 

[Rowdy]

This thread right here is all you need to read to understand about libs. Majority of the rich athletes and Hollywood are so far from reality, and they think this shit is cool or the right thing to do. They need to walk in the common mans shoes, who makes his living by the sweat on his brow and the callouses on his hands. This is dividing the country more than ever!

 

[Pattersonca65]

I tuned out the NBA and MLB this season. Not because of politics. The pandemic hit and I have been doing other things with my time. Getting more stuff done outside and motorcycle riding. if football wants to do this, fine with me. That means no more sitting in front of the TV on Sunday for three plus hours. In the end, they will only end up hurting themselves.

 

[fastforward]

Players not playing isn't going to make the public more or less racist. It will make the owners and players more or less rich.

 

[BigKen]

NFL is sympathetic, but not stupid. Only pro sport without guaranteed contracts. The NFL ditch diggers are as important as the Quarterbacks and we all know what happens when you embarrass an owner. Unemployment.

Not every NBA player is rich either and all of the screaming and whining by billionaire Lebron ain't changing nothing. NBA players want out, fine, there are 100,000 guys out there who will play and eventually the talent will rise to the top. Maybe if all these players we have today quit, the league can start playing by the basic rules like dribbling without palming, one step before a shot and not three, fouls are actually contact.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I could see some publicity stunts to make it look like they are willing to do whatever it takes, but at the end of the day it’s not going to stop the NFL from happening. There’s just too much money to be lost & the NFL won’t cave in regardless of how diluted the product appears without its star power. I mean look at the preseason ratings of years past! They can fill the field with nobodies & still get good ratings.

 

[jarntt]

let's see where this goes. Still a long way off

 

[jarntt]

let's see where this goes. Still a long way off

Wait, does this mean Mahomes and Dak only sit half a game?

 

[Debbie Does]

These athletes are paid well to play a kid's game.

NFL players get payed for games they show up to play in. They have special Covid opt-out payments. But, if a player chooses not to play for other reasons, he doesn't get paid. If a game is cancelled for a boycott, no one gets payed.

When there's only 16 games in a season, every one you choose not to play in hurts your bank account a lot.

 

[GNG]

I tuned out the NBA and MLB this season. Not because of politics. The pandemic hit and I have been doing other things with my time. Getting more stuff done outside and motorcycle riding. if football wants to do this, fine with me. That means no more sitting in front of the TV on Sunday for three plus hours. In the end, they will only end up hurting themselves.

I don't watch either MLB or the NBA.

 

[Jikkle]

let's see where this goes. Still a long way off

The season is 2 weeks away and public consciousness will long be faded by this point so I doubt we'll see any sort of boycotts.

The more that's coming out about the Blake case the more these guys should be distancing themselves from it anyways. You're not going to win much favor for standing up to guys like that in a case that most people probably felt that lethal force was reasonable. You could argue if lethal force was necessary but it's a tough sell to go with the narrative that racist cops killing an unarmed black man for no reason.

 

[Boglodyte]

Post-phoning a game means nothing. You still end up playing and you still get paid. You sacrificed nothing and all you get is a day to good off.

 

[Upinthe North]

Post-phoning a game means nothing. You still end up playing and you still get paid. You sacrificed nothing and all you get is a day to good off.

I thought this too. I initially thought the NBA and NHL teams were forfeiting a game, which potentially could mean a playoff loss and/or pay. It seems all leagues are going ahead as usual, without any real sacrifice or repercussions for the boycott. It would have been more meaningful if they boycotted all the remaining playoff games, instead of pushing them forward a few days. I'm not a huge fan of politics in entertainment, although I recognize it exists.

I think it's almost arrogant of them to think they have that much sway over their fans opinions or thought process. I know they are trying to do something good, I just think they're not really accomplishing changing racism. The media is definitely giving them an overinflated reaction to their cause.

Racism needs to be taught in our children's early school years and then reiterated again in high school. Racist parents have a strong influence on their children.

 

[Ricky Roma]

I am seeing all the flack that NHL is taking this morning for not boycotting their playoff games, and being called a "white privilege league."

Had they kept playing, it woulda been the best thing the NHL has done in decades....but they cratered to social media and the idiocy that owns that neck of the woods. If there is any protest these leagues go forward with (and I disagree with them generally), it would be in support of the law enforcement who have endured some of the most nonsesical 'reasoning' I've ever seen.

.....and the media eat this shit up......