Weekend Ratings Jump Undermines Trump Claim That Discreet Pregame Protests Are Destroying the NFL

[DonViejo]

By Ben Mathis-Lilley

After a weekend spent complaining about black NFL players, POTUS claimed Tuesday morning that the league's ratings have declined because patriotic Americans are so insulted when anti-racism protests take place during the national anthem that they stop watching games:

Link to tweet

NBC's Pro Football Talk, however, reports in a surprise development that it turns out Donald Trump might have made a claim that was not factually true:

For the weekend as a whole, ESPN and CBS were up, NBC and FOX were down, and on aggregate ratings across the NFL were up about 3 percent from Week Three last year.

The bump was especially influenced by Monday night's game, before which Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a very white man, took a knee with his team—albeit in the ambiguous name of "unity" rather than social justice—in the moments before the anthem was played:

Cowboys-Cardinals got a 9.3 overnight rating for ESPN, easily the highest-rated Monday night game of the year. ... The 9.3 overnight rating is way up from last year’s Week Three Monday night game.

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http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/09/26/nfl_ratings_up_slightly_despite_trump_kneeling_claims.html

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

1. Local right wing radio are convinced

Stadiums will be wastelands starting with Thursday packers bears game.

"83 percent of the country supports President trump Thursday and Sunday will be the last of the kneeling as the president has put his foot down"

And they believe it yikes

[Blindingly apparent]

2. I hope it's this report that is correct and not RW adio

Otherwise, my sense of social justice and patriotism will require me to start watching football. I sincerely believe in the cause behind dropping to their knees but I really would prefer not to have to watch the gameS