1st Amendment says, "... you can kneel during the national anthem" if you want to... but

Scataphagos

Scataphagos

Hey you can avoid the national anthem by remaining in the locker room... or you can kneel, give a Nazi salute... or even take a SHIT on the sidelines during.

Doesn't mean the rest of us have to like it.

When the public tunes out the NFL on TV... and stops attending home games/renewing season tickets... to the point it hurts the league/teams' "bottom line"... THEN maybe we'll see where their loyalties really lie.

(All of this has put a dent in my social life. I'm no longer going to host my annual Super Bowl party... even if the Broncos are in it.)

:(
 
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All this talk about someone having a constitutional right to kneel during the national anthem is a crock. On your own time and place or in a public place -then yes- and if you are not under contract or in the employ of someone who does not want it or where it is deemed to be contrary to the best interests of your company.

I absolutely have a constitutional first amendment to walk around with a sign that says Hillary Sucks Dead Donkey Dicks. I do not have a right to do that at a DNC sponsored event if I am under contract with the DNC to promote the interests of the democratic party. Now. the ding dongs here will argue that taking a political stance and making a social statement at a game is not contrary to the best interests of the nfl but the point remains the same- you have no constitutional right to do it- you have to convince the nfl.
 
This one should hurt the NFL, wonder how many people are going to be cancelling their sunday ticket.



DirecTV Allows Some NFL Refunds After Anthem Controversy


Satellite broadcaster will let at least some customers get refunds for its Sunday Ticket package of NFL games if they cite players’ national anthem protests.

DirecTV is letting at least some customers cancel subscriptions to its Sunday Ticket package of NFL games and obtain refunds if they cite players’ national anthem protests as the reason, customer service representatives said Tuesday.

Sunday Ticket’s regular policy doesn’t allow refunds once the season is under way. But the representatives said they are making exceptions this season—which began in September—in response to the protests, in which players kneel or link arms during the national anthem.

Spokesmen for DirecTV-parent AT&T Inc. and the National Football League declined to comment.


The shift is the latest twist in a controversy that has divided the nation after President Donald Trump blasted players who took a knee during the anthem and said they should be fired. He has called on people to walk out of stadiums when players are kneeling.

“For people to disrespect that by kneeling during the playing of our national anthem, I think is disgraceful,” Mr. Trump said on Tuesday.

Several teams have issued statements defending the rights of their players to express their opinion. The NFL also has shown solidarity with the players.

What began as calls to attention to social injustice for black Americans transformed into something more over the weekend, when more players took a knee in what amounted to a league-wide rebuke of Mr. Trump’s comments.

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During a press conference at the White House with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday, President Donald Trump discussed possible military action against North Korea and his tweets on NFL players' decision to kneel during the national anthem. Photo: Getty Images
It isn’t just the political stakes that are high. Football draws the biggest TV audiences of American sports and is a vital income source for a host of major media companies. Sunday Ticket is a major customer draw for DirecTV and one of the NFL’s premier franchises, earning it $1.5 billion a year in licensing revenue.

A substantial number of cancellations risks further damage as the league tries to rebound in ratings. Viewership fell last year and continues to do so this year. Network executives and league officials attributed last year’s declines in part to viewing competition from the presidential election, consumer distaste with the pace and quality of games, and the anthem protests.


DirecTV service representatives contacted by The Wall Street Journal had different understandings of the policy. One said refunds to those concerned about the anthem protests were only offered to subscribers with certain offers or plans. One representative said full refunds were available for those who complained about anthem protests. Another said such people could only get prorated refunds for the remainder of the season. Yet other representatives said the policy hadn’t changed and that no refunds were allowed for any reason.

However, DirecTV subscribers contacted by The Wall Street Journal showed the satellite broadcaster was offering at least some refunds.

Marc Hoffman, a longtime subscriber to Sunday Ticket, which gives sports fans the ability to watch every Sunday game, said in an interview he was able to cancel his subscription and receive a refund on Monday. The package costs around $280 per season.

“I honestly didn’t think I’d get a refund,” Mr. Hoffman said. “I know their guidelines, I just wanted to make a point.”

Chris Baker, who lives in Indiana, reluctantly canceled his Sunday Ticket subscription, but not precisely as a response to the protests.

“I explained to them I was tired of politics in sports, and it’s not how I want to spend my Sunday, watching all that transpire,” he said he told a DirecTV representative. He said the representative “insinuated there was a high volume of calls calling into cancel.”

The protests, which started last season when quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem to protest treatment of minorities by police, were a focal point of this past weekend’s games.

Mr. Kaepernick, formerly a member of the San Fransicco 49ers, remains unsigned, which many players have attributed to owners blackballing him in response to his decision to kneel a year ago.

Aside from DirecTV, the NFL-owned channel RedZone, which provides live action and scoring from every game on Sundays, is also experiencing some cancellations due to the protests.

Chuck Plavk, a veteran who resides in Wisconsin, canceled his subscription to the channel from Charter Communications ’ Spectrum Cable. He said when he called, the customer service representative said, “everybody’s calling about that today.” Unlike Sunday Ticket, which is only available through DirecTV, RedZone is available through a number of cable providers and streaming outlets.

A Charter spokeswoman declined to comment.

AT&T, owner of DirecTV, is trying to push toward completion of its pending $85 billion merger with Time Warner Inc., currently under review by the government.

During this past Sunday, CBS ratings were up slightly compared with the same with a year ago while NBC and Fox were down. ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” which featured the popular Dallas Cowboys, was up substantially over last year, when a presidential debate ate into the football audience.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/directv-allows-some-nfl-refunds-after-anthem-controversy-1506453159
 
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