Not a sure thing

25 September 2017 By Jennifer Saba Follow @jennifersaba

President Trump is attacking football players who don’t stand for the national anthem. But falling TV ratings are a deeper-seated problem for the sport. The likes of Disney and Fox that shelled out billions for the rights face pain. But CBS could be in for a major sack.

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National Football League teams banded together during games on Sept. 24 as a show of support for protesting players who have taken to kneeling on one knee during the U.S. national anthem.

Over the weekend President Donald Trump urged NFL owners to fire protesting players on the spot and called on fans to boycott the league.

“The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!” Trump tweeted on Sept. 25.

The gesture was started last season by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick as a way to call attention to what players see as racist treatment of African- Americans by the police.

Ratings for NFL games for the first two weeks of the season have been down. Last year overall viewership for football declined around 8 percent compared with the previous season.

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Context News

National Football League teams banded together during games on Sept. 24 as a show of support for protesting players who have taken to kneeling on one knee during the U.S. national anthem.

Over the weekend President Donald Trump urged NFL owners to fire protesting players on the spot and called on fans to boycott the league.

“The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!” Trump tweeted on Sept. 25.

The gesture was started last season by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick as a way to call attention to what players see as racist treatment of African- Americans by the police.

Ratings for NFL games for the first two weeks of the season have been down. Last year overall viewership for football declined around 8 percent compared with the previous season.

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