Image courtesy of USAToday.com
How is that protesting the NFL working for you?
If the unilateral policy change handed down by NFL owners, which banned the kneeling sparked by Colin Kaepernick during the National Anthem is any indication, it is not working too well.
Then and again, the protesting tactic of not watching or going to games never had much of a chance to have the impact those who advanced it sought. Why? Because the demographics of those most directly impacted by the police brutality that Kaepernick and others were protesting simply do not make up enough of the season ticket holders and television viewing audience to have made a dent in NFL profits. About 77% of NFL fans are Caucasian, compared to 15% being African-American/Black, and 8% being Hispanic. Maybe immigrants and others most adversely affected by police brutality may make up another 2%, which puts the number at 25%.
While 1 out of 4 is not insignificant, it will not make a difference because the appetite for the NFL, even with declining TV ratings, still far outpaces that of its competitors. Think of it like the difference between the wholesale and retail price. The mark up is so high that when they claim to be having a sale, the consumer is duped into thinking he or she got a bargain, when in fact the seller had plenty of room to drop the price and still walk away way ahead. Does anyone really believe that networks are going to drop out of the business of broadcasting NFL games? Does anyone believe that advertisers will decide to try to reach customers through bowling rather than football?
As for season ticket holders, let us say all those from the most affected groups decide today to give up their tickets. Have you seen the waiting list for season tickets in places like New England, Dallas, Washington, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, and New York? They would be replaced without a blink of an eye. Moreover, the NFL has moved in the same direction as the larger society, which accommodates the privileged through corporate suites etc. at the expense of the dwindling working and middle-class customers, who have not been already priced out of season tickets. Simply put, as long as the money keeps rolling in, NFL owners could not care less what those affected by police brutality think or feel, and they certainly do not care about the freedom of speech rights of its labor. It really was no surprise that the owners did not even bother to consult the NFL Players Association about the policy change. They have been emboldened by the recent Supreme Court ruling against labor that allows class-action waivers in favor of arbitration agreements to be a condition of employment. There is no reason to believe the right-leaning court will not rule against labor again in the upcoming “Janus” case, which seeks to literally bust unions.
Image courtesy of the NY Daily News
So how can we bring NFL owners to their knees to both lift the obvious blackballing of Kaepernick and get on the right side of history regarding police brutality? First, we have to accurately access whom we are up against. Righteous indignation and well-meaning passions are not substitutes for effective tactics. The 32 NFL owners are not just any part of the 1 percent. They are especially powerful among that 1 percent. To use the mafia analogy, these are MADE MEN and anyone that knows “the code” knows that going up against a “Made Man” often creates more problems than it solves. Because these men are extraordinarily powerful, any tactics used to bring them to their knees must be extraordinarily powerful, and the only one that I can think of would be the withholding of NFL player labor.
There is some recent precedent. When the University of Missouri football players refused to play until issues of institutional racism were acknowledged and addressed, then and only then did the college get serious about the issues. Can you imagine what would happen if even a quarter of the Black NFL players refused to play until Kap was back in the league and other larger issues regarding police brutality were addressed? Some of the very intractable issues that grassroots groups have been struggling to address would be done almost overnight. Keep in mind that during WW2, the Russians were US allies while the Germans, Italians, and Japanese were enemies. By 1950, within 5 years of the end of the war, the entire narrative flipped in the minds of the general public, as did foreign policy. The Russians became the enemies while the Germans, Japanese, and Italians became allies. Power can do whatever power wants to do, when it is compelled by a people’s movement to do so. The people with the most leverage in this case against NFL owners are the players.
