Players, teams and even owners across the NFL exercised their constitutional rights to protest this past weekend in a very notable way, and not everybody seems to be okay with that.
President Donald Trump was the instigator of the incident and he's still trying to take on the NFL on Twitter this week, but there is a subsection of fans and even vendors who felt the shows of protest were disrespectful.
AT&T has gone as far as to reportedly offer refunds on Sunday NFL Ticket, and the statue of Ray Lewis is being petitioned against because of the Ravens' protest.
Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated is passing on a report from the Washington Post that states there are even a handful of restaurants that are refusing to air NFL games. The Post specifically reported on four restaurants in South Carolina, Texas, New York and Louisiana.
Woo passed on some reaction and a bit of explanation:
David McCraw of the Palmetto Restaurant and Ale House in Greenville, S.C., said Sunday he would no longer show NFL games after players began kneeling during the anthem. McCraw told the Associated Press he would show games again once all players pay respect to the American flag and the country.
Of course, one of the basic truths of being an American is the right to free speech, and that's exactly what the NFL has been exercising — starting with Colin Kaepernick last season.
These restaurants, as private institutions, also have the right to play whatever they want on their televisions, so if the owners don't want to show the NFL on Sunday afternoons, that's just the way it's going to be.
They probably believe that by turning off the NFL they'll somehow impact the league's bottom line via ratings, and perhaps they'll even increase theirs if those who fall on the side that doesn't want to see the protests start going t their restaurants.
How much of an impact this protest of the protests will make is up for debate, but that's part of the beauty of America, isn't it?
These restaurant owners are doing what they feel is right, and the same thing can be said of the protesting NFL players.
