The NFL is in a tailspin.
The sports juggernaut was once thought to be invincible, but the league has huge problems.
Now the NFL got more news that shows it’s trending in the wrong direction.
Problems All Over the Place
The NFL has a ton of problems.
The old wisdom says it’s foolish to fight a two-front war.
The NFL might be fighting a four-front war.
The league has no good answer on the concussion problem.
The 2015 film “Concussion” ripped the NFL for its handling of the issue.
The league currently owes $500 million in medical settlements to players.
And that number could rise.
The NFL also had a spate of ugly domestic violence cases spring up.
The most notorious involved former running back Ray Rice.
A camera caught him beating his fiancée to a pulp.
The NFL took a ton of heat for handing down a weak suspension to Rice.
The league also came under fire for poor officiating.
Replacement officials made a brief appearance.
But commissioner Roger Goodell had to get rid of them after multiple serious blunders.
However, the worst scandal to hit the NFL in years involves the anti-American anthem protests.
The unpatriotic displays have soured millions of long-time NFL fans.
Perhaps for good.
Going the Wrong Way
People tried to downplay the negative impact of the anthem protests.
Free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick began his protest in August of 2016.
Stadium attendance, viewership, and advertising revenue all dropped after the protests.
Goodell and other protest apologists blamed the 2016 election for the ratings drop.
But the ratings dropped again in 2017.
It was the NFL’s first two-year drop in popularity in ages.
That’s a scary trend for any business.
It got worse this summer.
The Hall of Fame game in Canton, OH gets fans excited for the upcoming season.
It’s the first time in six months fans get to see real football.
This year’s ceremony also had many high-profile hall inductees.
But the Hall of Fame game ratings hit a 20-year low.
The latest data suggest the problem still exists.
The early Monday Night Football opener was the lowest rated in at least 12 years.
Jets-Lions is lowest early window MNF opener in at least a dozen years. Blowouts never good. Rams-Raiders is flat compared to Chargers-Broncos last year in late window https://t.co/TVWQ4zSHPP
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) September 11, 2018
The game featured a team in the New York media market with an intriguing new starting quarterback.
But the ratings still tanked.
Football and Politics Don’t Mix
Pro sports are a form of escapism.
People want to stop thinking about work and politics and just enjoy some football.
But the left is making that impossible.
They want every part of society under the thumb of politics.
This makes for a polarized America.
People can’t even enjoy football anymore without being told what to think.
It’s terrible for business.
Commissioner Goodell has contributed to the mess.
He didn’t nip the protest problem in the bud when he had the chance.
Instead he let it fester.
Now he can’t control it.
Goodell had hired a left-wing Democratic strategist to help with public relations.
That could help explain the league’s terrible handling of the anthem disaster.
The ratings reflect Goodell’s poor handling of the situation.