NFL Polled Americans to Vote on If Kaepernick Should Be Signed

By Perry Green, AFRO Sports Editor

The NFL polled Americans last summer to get their opinions on whether Colin Kaepernick should have been signed by a team, according to reports.

Yahoo Sports (https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-nfl-used-polling-firm-get-public-opinion-colin-kaepernick-050421636.html) reported that the NFL hired The Glover Park Group, a Washington-based consulting firm that was co-founded by ex-NFL Communications Chief Joe Lockhart, to conduct polls around the U.S., asking Americans two questions regarding the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback: Do they believe he should’ve been signed by an NFL team? And if they believed he only remained a free agent because of his refusal to stand during the playing of the National Anthem?

According to Yahoo, the Glover Park Group also gathered data on how fans felt about domestic violence, gambling, player safety, player protests and how to discipline players for protesting. Sources familiar with the research told Yahoo that Kaepernick was the only player singled out in polls for specific opinions; the data compiled on Kaepernick was reportedly sent to various high-ranking NFL officials, including commissioner Roger Goodell.

The existence of such polling data has caused speculation over if the information was also shared with team owners or team personnel executives, perhaps influencing their decisions whether or not to sign Kaepernick. If so, that could support Kaepernick’s argument in his collusion complaint against the NFL, perhaps proving that the league’s respective teams and owners conspired to keep the quarterback from  playing in the league.

The data compiled was divided into multiple demographics, according to Yahoo Sports, including racial categories (White folks, Black people, Latinos) as well as generational groups (Baby Boomers, Gen-Xers and Millennials) and political affiliations (Democrats, Republicans and independents). Sources told Yahoo that the poll data revealed a “deep racial, political and generational division when it came to player protests.” Per the report, the majority of the White Americans, Republicans and Baby Boomers polled supported disciplining players for protesting, while most of the Blacks, Latinos, Democrats and Millenials who polled voted against disciplining protesters.