{"id":451022,"date":"2020-09-14T15:49:26","date_gmt":"2020-09-14T19:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=451022"},"modified":"2020-09-14T15:54:41","modified_gmt":"2020-09-14T19:54:41","slug":"nfl-owners-are-now-willing-to-support-players-protests-451022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nfl-owners-are-now-willing-to-support-players-protests-451022\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL owners are now willing to support players\u2019 protests"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a turnabout, NFL team owners say they\u2019re supporting players\u2019 freedom to protest police violence. In 2017, when President Donald Trump criticized league players for kneeling during the national anthem, owners scrambled to stop player activism, writes Bethany Lacina<\/a>, an associate professor of political science<\/a> at the Ä¢¹½´«Ã½<\/a>, in an analysis for the Washington Post\u2019s Monkey Cage site<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yet, Lacina cautions \u201cthe National Football League\u2019s newfound appreciation for its players\u2019 civil rights gestures is likely to be tested by the election season and by fans\u2019 spending power.\u201d While Black players make up two-thirds of the league\u2014Republicans still disapprove of the protests. At the same time, recent polls show that most Americans now believe that kneeling during the anthem is acceptable.<\/p>\n

The crux for the team owners is obvious, says Lacina: if they side with protesting players over the president, they risk losing Republican fans. If the owners side with the president, they risk losing Black fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepublicans contribute disproportionately to the NFL\u2019s revenue. Republicans skew wealthier, and they account for 31 percent of the buyers of NFL apparel and 32 percent of the fans in the stands,\u201d writes the political scientist. \u201cAfrican Americans have a lower income distribution and are underrepresented in these lucrative categories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lacina\u2019s main research interests cover international relations, comparative politics, conflict, and Indian politics. The author of Rival Claims: Ethnic Violence and Territorial Autonomy under Indian Federalism<\/em> (University of Michigan Press, 2017), Lacina is an expert in civil and ethnic conflict, especially disputes over territorial autonomy. Her latest book\u2014Nativism and Economic Integration Across the Developing World: Collision and Accommodation<\/em> (Cambridge University Press, 2018), coauthored with Rikhil Bhavnani from the University of Wisconsin\u2014looks at ethnic groups\u2019 fighting over migration and nativism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201c[T]he National Football League\u2019s newfound appreciation for its players\u2019 civil rights gestures is likely to be tested by the election season and by fans\u2019 spending power,\u201d says political scientist Bethany Lacina.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":942,"featured_media":451082,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29212],"tags":[35652,21462,16072],"class_list":["post-451022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-voices-opinion","tag-bethany-lacina","tag-department-of-political-science","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNFL owners are now willing to support players\u2019 protests<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ political scientist says NFL will be challenged to balance appreciation for civil rights with fans\u2019 spending power.\" \/>\n<meta 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