And they come at a time when the NFL and many individual teams also have begun to take a softer stance on anthem protests and voice support for athlete advocacy. The league surely will hear from fans whose feelings on the anthem protests have not budged. While a 63 percent majority of Republicans still say it’s inappropriate, opposition to anthem protests has fallen among Republicans and independents. And over 8 in 10 Black Americans (82 percent) say athletes should use their platforms to express their views along with smaller majorities of Hispanic (70 percent) and White Americans (56 percent). According to the poll, Americans’ opinions about whether athletes should express themselves on these issues are closely tied to their concerns about police treatment of Black Americans.

Source: Washington Post September 10, 2020 04:01 UTC