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Sports Tag

Papa John's, the pizza restaurant chain headquartered in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, has been on a mostly bad publicity roller coaster for several weeks. The company's founder and CEO John Schnatter spoke out against the national anthem protests at NFL games, claiming they were hurting the company's bottom line.

The magazine GQ has named former quarterback Colin Kaepernick its citizen of the year since becoming a "powerful symbol of activism and resistance" since he took a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality. GQ said that this action has put Kaepernick in the same company of Jackie Robinson, the man who courageously broke the color barrier in baseball and had to endure ACTUAL racial injustice and brutality. Or Muhammad Ali, who protested the Vietnam War and refused to serve when he was drafted, which forced boxing to lock him out. EXCUSE ME?

Beloved former Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully has said that he will never watch another football game due to the player protests during the national anthem. From ESPN:
Said Scully: "During the fall and winter, I watch the NFL on Sunday, and it's not that I'm some great patriot. I was in the Navy for a year, didn't go anywhere, didn't do anything, but I have overwhelming respect and admiration for anyone who puts on a uniform and goes to war. So the only thing that I can do in my little way is to not to preach; I will never watch another NFL game."

A disabled Navy veteran has refused to receive an honor from the New Orleans Saints due to some players taking a knee during the national anthem. From NOLA.com:
Retired Navy Cmdr. John Wells, executive director of the national Military Veterans Advocacy, was named a Peoples Health Champion, an award given by the Medicare health insurance advantage organization to citizens over 65 who have made significant accomplishments after reaching "senior citizen" status.

FIFA has decided to reject a request from the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) to sanction Israel due to athletic activities that take place in the West Bank. From The Jerusalem Post:
"The FIFA Council takes note of the documents adopted by international governmental bodies concerning the relationship between Israel and Palestine – such as United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which comprises recommendations without sanctions – but has decided that it should not take any position on their contents," the statement read. "The FIFA Council acknowledges that the current situation is, for reasons that have nothing to do with football, characterized by an exceptional complexity and sensitivity and by certain de facto circumstances that can neither be ignored nor changed unilaterally by non-governmental organizations such as FIFA."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced today that he personally believes that players should stand for the national anthem, but the league will not make it a rule requiring it. From NFL.com:
"I think our clubs all see this the same way -- we want our players to stand, we're going to encourage them to stand and we're going to continue to work on these issues in the community," Goodell told reporters after meeting with team owners at the Fall League Meeting in New York. "We'll address issues -- I can't deal with hypotheticals right now, we'll deal with those issues if they come up -- but for right now, that's our focus."

Former NFL quarter Colin Kaepernick has filed a grievance against NFL owners because he believes they colluded to keep him out of a job due to his protests during the national anthem. Kaepernick first protested in the 2016 preseason when he took a knee during the national anthem. He claimed he protested against racial injustice across the country. The protests took off, with many players following his lead.

Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins visited the White House Tuesday despite pressure from the Golden State Warriors refusal drop by the White House to celebrate their NBA championship win. The left went CRAZY on social media and one outlet even downplayed the tradition of visiting the White House.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced on Sunday that if a player disrespects the flag then he cannot play in the game after a reporter informed him that two players raised their fist after the anthem. From NBC Dallas-Fort Worth:
Jones said "If there’s anything that is disrespectful to the flag then we will not play. Okay? Do you understand? If we are disrespecting the flag then we won’t play, period. But we are going to respect the flag and I’m going to create the perception of it, and we have. I’m not aware and I wouldn’t know what you are talking about, I’m not aware of that but if you say you saw it, then you saw it, but we as a team are very much on the page together, we’ve made our expression that we are together , I’m very supportive of the team, but under no circumstances will the Dallas Cowboys, I don’t care what happens, under no circumstances will we as an organization, or as coaches or players not support and stand and recognize and honor the flag. Period."

Last spring when liberals were storming town hall meetings and angrily yelling at Republican congressmen, the images were unavoidable. All the networks, even FOX News, showed them for all the country to see. NFL fans who are angry about players kneeling during the national anthem haven't been so lucky.

Professor Jacobson is not the only one who is "tuning out" sports and entertainment venues because of social justice warrior activism. It turns out millions of American are joining him. Sunday Night Football ratings plummeted the night of the #TakeAKnee protests.
In metered market numbers, the primetime matchup that saw the Washington Redskins beat the Oakland Raiders 27-10 snared an 11.6/20, the worst SNF has performed this season so far. It’s an 8% dip from the early numbers of last week’s game, Atlanta’s 34-23 win over Green Bay. Amid cheers and boos from fans at FedEx Field in Maryland last night, the third week of the SNF season declined 10% from early numbers of the comparable game of last year on September 25, 2016.

Another earthquake has hit the sports world after reports emerged that the FBI has arrested 10 NCAA basketball officials, including four assistant coaches, along with executives at Adidas on charges of fraud and corruption. From ESPN:
"The picture painted by the charges brought today is not a pretty one,'' Joon H. Kim, the acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a Tuesday news conference. "Coaches at some of the nation's top programs soliciting and accepting cash bribes. Managers and financial advisers circling blue-chip prospects like coyotes. And employees of one of the world's largest sportswear companies secretly funneling cash to the families of high school recruits."