COMMENTARY: NFL risks serious consequences from its fan base for allowing national anthem protests
This is the story of the NFL’s suicide.
Are you listening, Jim Murren and MGM? This is a case study for how to destroy a billion-dollar business by parading your offensive leftist politics and alienating your own customer base.
President Donald Trump has done it again. No, I don’t mean he’s offended millions of Americans. I mean he said exactly what was on the mind of tens of millions of middle-class Americans. Call us the Silent Majority. Because of Trump, our views now count.
Don’t look now, but Trump just kicked the NFL’s butt. Ratings are plummeting. Revenues are plunging. Player endorsement deals are being canceled. Fans are booing. Fans are burning tickets and uniforms. Lifelong NFL zealots are vowing to never watch another game. And the No. 1-selling jersey is now a Pittsburgh Steeler lineman — a former Army Ranger with the courage to stand for the national anthem.
The Silent Majority is speaking loudly and clearly.
When you offend 63 million Trump voters, your business suffers. Your bottom line plunges. The NFL is going the way of dying dinosaur ESPN. And the Emmys — with the lowest ratings ever. And Hollywood box office revenues — the worst in 25 years. And NBC’s Megyn Kelly — whose career is finished. And Arnold Schwarzenegger — who flopped as host of “Celebrity Apprentice.” And actress Jennifer Lawrence — whose latest movie bombed after disrespecting Trump.
My grandfather put it best. He taught me there are only two rules to business:
1) The customer is always right.
2) If the customer is wrong, please refer back to rule No. 1.
All of these athletes, entertainers, CEOs, businesses and leagues such as the NFL enjoy the right to free speech. They can say whatever they want. But so can we, the customers. And we always get the last laugh.
Always assume your customers are 50-50 liberal vs. conservative. Therefore, any political statement you make risks offending and alienating half your customers. But what if your specific customer base is 70 percent conservative or center right? Well, then you could ruin your entire brand forever. Enter the NFL.
Of course, the NFL’s audience includes lots of diverse groups. But let’s be honest. I believe the typical NFL fan is a white, middle-class, middle-aged, meat-eating, testosterone-driven Republican (or certainly center right).
The typical NFL fan is a flag waver. He always stands for the national anthem. He wears flag pins and chants “USA, USA, USA!” He loves cops and members of the military. In short, he is a middle-class Trump voter. Not everyone. But a significant majority.
Doesn’t the NFL commissioner know this? Don’t the executives at the NFL offices know this? What world do they live in?
This isn’t about free speech. This is about the survival of your business and destruction of your brand.
Why would the NFL be at war with its own fans, viewers and ticket buyers?
Now it’s time to really bring the NFL to its knees. It’s time for a nationwide boycott. It’s time for 63 million Trump fans to stop watching. Turn off NFL games on your TV for the next month. Watch the owners cry. Watch them panic. Watch them beg. If you’re betting on the games here in Vegas, just watch them online or on your iPhones. But make TV ratings collapse.
It’s time for 63 million Trump voters to stop buying NFL merchandise. Go cold turkey. Write every NFL sponsor and demand they cancel their NFL advertising campaigns or we’ll stop buying from them. Call your congressional representatives and demand the NFL’s antitrust and tax-exempt status be withdrawn. Ouch. This one’s gonna hurt.
It’s time to teach the NFL a lesson. The Silent Majority counts. What we believe in — God, country, Constitution, flag, national anthem, American exceptionalism — matters. Start worrying about offending us.
The NFL is about to learn a bitter lesson. Trump 35, NFL 0.
Contact Wayne Allyn Root at Wayne@ROOTforAmerica.com. Hear or watch the nationally syndicated “WAR Now: The Wayne Allyn Root Show” from 3 to 6 p.m. daily at 790 Talk Now and at 5 p.m. on Newsmax TV.
