It annoys me to the point that I won't watch any game where players either kneel during the national anthem, wave their fist (a sign of black power), or otherwise show a lack of respect for the country or the national anthem.
This is the same NFL that objected to players openly praying, to players giving remembrance on the field for the 9-11-2001 attacks, or players wearing or saying things on the field in support of our troops overseas. If the NFL bans these actions of patriotic support, and yet allows displays of hating America, then fuck them, I won't watch or support it.
The players should be held to the same standard as the rest of us on our jobs. If I were to rant religious or political views on the job, I would be reprimanded, suspended or fired. I can talk on my own time about politics or be politically active in advocacy of certain causes, I can express my views on issues in online political forums and social media, or I could even create my own website for that purpose. If I were a celebrity or pro athlete, I could give print or video interviews on the subject, or create or participate in promotional events or fundraisers toward that cause. But it is completely inappropriate to force-feed your political views on the job, whether your workplace is an office or a football field. We are an increasingly polarized country, and it stands to reason that whichever side you advocate on the job, it will probably alienate roughly half of the people you do business with. So it makes sense to do that on your own time, in the proper venue.
This issue goes back about 15 years, where the Dixie Chicks were singing in concert, and in the middle of the concert got preachy, stopped singing, and just ranted about then-president George W. Bush. Someone in the audience yelled
"Shut up and sing!" Laura Ingraham wrote a book using that as the title, about Hollywood elites who ram their views down the throats of an offended public who doesn't agree with them. There are plenty of ways famous people can voice their political opinions, without interrupting the events the public paid to see.
From the polls I've seen,
about 60% of the public thinks the players are wrong. I love when NFL players with an average contract of $2 million a year bemoan injustice, and describe themselves as slaves and the NFL team owners as "masters" who suppress their free speech. A serious disconnect from reality, and lack of appreciation for how truly entitled they are.
