Another poll seeking the opinions of Americans on NFL anthem protests, shows that the majority still oppose them. However, there is a much wider gulf between left and right, not to mention between blacks and whites.
The new NBC poll discussed on Sunday’s Meet The Press found that 54 percent of respondents disapprove of anthem protests, while 43 percent approve, Deadline Hollywood reported.
Yet, the overall numbers show that the kneelers have even less support when viewed through a left/right lens.
According to NBC’s Chuck Todd, 88 percent of responding Republicans oppose the protests (only 10 approve), but for Democrats, the numbers are nearly the exact opposite with 72 percent approving of taking a knee during the anthem while 23 percent disapprove.
Unsurprisingly, there is also a wide racial divide seen in the numbers. 70 percent of black respondents say protesting is the right thing to do, while 28 percent say no. Meanwhile, 58 percent of whites say the protests are not appropriate, while 38 percent say they are.
The poll comes only days ahead of the start of the 2018 NFL season, which is set to kick off on Thursday night.
Polls or no, the question of anthem protests is still up in the air after the league dumped its short-lived rule banning the protests in favor of sitting down with the player’s association to hash out a joint resolution.
Despite the fact that the start of the regular season is just around the corner, the two sides are not expected to produce compromise policy in time.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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