Poll: Most Americans Agree with NFL’s Anthem Protest Ban

A new poll shows that most Americans agree with the National Football League’s new rule requiring players on the field to stand during the national anthem.

The new SurveyMonkey poll released on May 27, shows that 54 percent of Americans overall agree with the anthem ban. Also, among those who identify as NFL fans, fully 56 percent support a ban on the protests. And “drilling down even further” an even larger 59 percent of those respondents who said they are, “big fans” of pro football said they agree with the ban.

Other findings show that 55 percent overall think that it is fair to fine teams that allow protests to continue while 42 percent say it is unfair. And 57 percent say it is a fair compromise to stay in the locker room during the anthem versus 39 percent who say it is unfair.

In addition, overall 41 percent of respondents said that players who take a knee during the anthem are unpatriotic while a slightly larger 42 percent said protesting during the anthem has nothing to do with patriotism.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, black respondents had a far different view. Fully 63 percent said that kneeling during the anthem is unrelated to whether or not the players are patriotic. A very large 71 percent of blacks also said they felt it was unfair to fine teams for player protests. Still, 55 percent of blacks said that the policy of allowing players to stay in the locker room during the anthem is a good compromise plan.

Finally, black respondents identified as “big fans” at a higher rate than whites.

“More than three-quarters of Blacks (68 percent) say they are fans of the NFL, compared with 53 percent of whites and 46 percent of Hispanics. A full 44 percent of blacks identify as ‘big fans.'” the poll reported.

The poll included responses from 1,795 American adults taken on May 24 and 25, several days after the NFL’s decision was released. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.0 percentage points.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.