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Poll: NFL Fans Prefer Players Stand, But OK With Kneeling

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Kneeling can mean a lot of things. When, where and how we kneel means different things to different people. To never kneel might be strength to some and weakness to others. Living in America gives us the freedom to kneel when we want and take a stand when and where we want. We grant each other these rights because we believe truth will prevail in the marketplace of ideas.

That must be why Americans love polls. We want to see who wins in this contest of ideas. Some say polls lie, as if an entity unto themselves. More accurately, pollsters and reporters can select samples, design questions, and disguise truthful answers to emphasize preferred results.

What about kneeling?

A recent poll of 1,570 Americans reported by the New York Post among others lead with the finding that the majority (52%) agreed, “It is OK for NFL players to kneel during the national anthem to protest police killings of African Americans.” Differences emerge by race, age, political party and income. Comparisons were made to a 2018 poll showing 35% agreed with Colin Kaepernick’s right to protest.

The first challenge is separating the effects of what (players kneeling), why (to protest police killings; of African Americans), and by whom (Kaepernick; other NFL players). Essentially, these are three or more different questions.

The second challenge is considering the general population sample. That the majority of Americans agree with the poll statement is informative and interesting, thus newsworthy. From the league’s revenue perspective what might matter more is what NFL fans think. Asking non-fans about kneeling during the national anthem is a bit like asking atheists what they think of the music at church. Good to know if they were to attend, but unlikely to matter, even if it would improve the music.

What do NFL fans think about kneeling?

An online poll was conducted July 21-22, 2020, among 985 confirmed NFL fans who on average reported watching an NFL game a little over 13 of the 17 weeks in the 2019 season. Most frequent favorite teams were typical (Cowboys, Bears, Patriots, Packers, Steelers, etc.). The map below shows the distribution of respondents across the United States by zip codes and self-described political ideology (left-to-right; blue-to-red), with a virtual bell curve distribution: Few on the far left (7.7%), few on the far right (5.9%), and, overall, 49.7% to the left and 50.3% to the right on the 8-point (liberal-to-conservative) scale. Similar to the national population (13.4%), 11.2% of all respondents identified as black or African-American. Among these avid NFL fans, 64.8% are male with a median age of 38 (age group quartiles: 25% <32; 25% 32-38; 25% 39-48; 25% 49+).

At random, half of the respondents were asked the original version if, “It is OK for NFL players to kneel during the national anthem to protest police killings of African Americans.” The other half were asked if, “It is OK for NFL players to kneel during the national anthem.” No statistically significant differences in the two versions emerged among Republicans (33.6%/34.1%) or Independents (58.0%/55.3%) who agreed or strongly agreed. However, among Democrats, the longer version drew significantly higher agreement (85.6%) compared to the short version (79.8%).

Overall, however, the results among NFL fans exceed the general population poll that showed 20% of Republicans and 77% of Democrats agreed with the original version of the question. Among all NFL fans in this survey, 60.7% agreed or strongly agreed it was OK for NFL players to kneel during the national anthem.

The good news for the NFL seems to be that its fans are even more accepting of players kneeling during the anthem than the general population.

Is “Just OK” the same as personal preference?

Psychologically, we respond differently if the focus is on what others do versus what we ourselves prefer or do. Saying it’s OK for others to kneel during the national anthem may be different than individuals saying they prefer players kneel.

Accordingly, these NFL fans were asked their opinions on the statement, “I prefer NFL players to stand during the national anthem.” The results of those who were indifferent, agreed or strongly agreed to the statement appear below, segmented by self-identified political party and race. In parentheses is the percentage who agreed or strongly agreed.

Overall, only 19.3% disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement. The better news for Americans is these results show we are truly a tolerant people. We may just as soon players stand, but most are OK granting others the right to do so if they wish.

United we stand?

Together, 80.7% of the NFL fans surveyed were indifferent (27.7%), agreed (18.7%) or strongly agreed (34.6%) that they preferred NFL players stand during the national anthem. Even more (84.9%) were indifferent (22.1%), agreed (32.5%) or strongly agreed (30.5%) with the statement, “Playing the national anthem at NFL games unites Americans.”

Political party separates opinions on the questions of personal preference for NFL players kneeling and the uniting of Americans by playing the national anthem. Race does not. No significant differences exist between blacks or African-Americans and others on these two issues. Political party is another matter.

Compared to Democrats (22%) or Independents (23.3%), Republicans are more than twice as likely (50.4%) to strongly agree that playing the national anthem at NFL games unites Americans. Relatively few disagree or strongly disagree across the party lines.

Is there a cost to taking a stand?

Taking a stand or a knee may come with a cost. NFL fans that disagreed or strongly disagreed with NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem report they’ll watch, on average, 2.7 fewer weeks out of the 17 NFL weeks in 2020.

Question order in polling determines outcomes but is rarely reported. In this case, NFL fans were asked about 2019 viewing habits, followed by Likert (5-point, disagree-agree) scales on the kneeling-related statements, followed by anticipated 2020 viewing habits. The statements in the middle produce a testing effect so that those disagreeing with NFL players kneeling would likely report lower viewing habits to be consistent with the opinions they just offered.

My guess is they’ll keep watching unless protest-related topics begin to take precedence over the primary purpose of NFL fans tuning in to watch football.

Moving Forward

One great thing about America is the majority of us can agree to disagree. Among all of the NFL fans surveyed, 53.3% agree or strongly agree they have a personal preference that players stand during the national anthem. But over half of these same fans are OK with players kneeling (55.3% are neutral, agree or strongly agree).

Tolerance is not the absence of standards or preferences but the willingness to allow others to hold different opinions. The results bear this out. Both of these are true among most of the NFL fans surveyed: Fans prefer players stand during the national anthem and are OK with players kneeling.

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