If Seahawks stars sit out the NFL season, would you still watch?
Several NFL stars are considering sitting out the season in protest of the apparent lockout of Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid. Could be Seahawks among them.
Just days ago, the NFL owners decided to ban kneeling during the anthem, but that was far from the last word on the subject. It was announced as a unanimous vote, even though no actual vote was held. You can read much more here about the league’s decision. More than a few Seahawks, notably Doug Baldwin, took exception to the rule. Roger Goodell and the league owners may have thought they resolved the issue, but it appears they’ve simply escalated it.
On Sunday, Shaun King reported that several star players told him they are considering sitting out of games until both Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid are signed. Kaepernick kicked off the entire anthem protest controversy in 2016, as you doubtless know. You may have forgotten that he initially sat during the anthem. It was only after a conversation with Nate Boyer that he decided to kneel. Nate Boyer is a former member of both the Seahawks and the Green Berets, incidentally.
Both Kaepernick and Reid filed grievances against the NFL for collusion. Pete Carroll and John Schneider were deposed in the proceedings, as were several other principals in the league. According to a report by Mike Florio, a lot of evidence shows that many teams viewed Kaepernick as starter material. That would go a long way to proving the case against the league.
Which is where the unnamed NFL stars come into the story. There’s no hint of exactly who these stars are, but it isn’t too hard to figure out that they would be some of the more vocal players in the league. Doug Baldwin, perhaps? Here’s King’s original announcement on Twitter:
Seattle Seahawks
Could a sit out possibly work?
Even if the players got the desired 25 percent participation, I don’t see this would get them anything except a loss of revenue. Granted, it was 31 years ago, but there was a season in which every NFL player decided to skip work. The players voted to strike after the second game of the season and sat out for 24 days.
Why just 24 days? Because the owners called their bluff. The NFL skipped one week and hustled up an entire league of replacement players. The football wasn’t very good, but it was football. Imagine an entire league of Cleveland Browns, and you get the picture. Regardless, people watched. The players lost their gamble, and went back to work. Eventually they won their right to free agency – that was the basis of their strike – but they won that battle in court, not by protest.
Would you watch the Seahawks without their stars?
The entire league – minus a few players that crossed the picket line – walked out and still couldn’t win. There isn’t any way that 25 percent, or even 100 percent of the players could force the league’s hand. Would ratings suffer? Of course they would. The owners wouldn’t acquiesce in 1987, and they clearly haven’t in 2018. Paul Allen is a different story, but he isn’t most owners.
There’s no reason to think the NFL ownership would back down, even if virtually every star player sat out. You think Bob Kraft or Jerry Jones care who’s on the field? They care about the bottom line, period. I understand the players’ idea of solidarity with Reid and Kaepernick, but I can’t see this particular avenue working. It didn’t work in 1987, and it won’t in 2018. Ultimately, it isn’t about what the owners think. It’s about what you, the fan, thinks.
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Here’s a hypothetical situation. Let me emphasize hypothetical. No member of the Seahawks has said a word about sitting out. Let’s say these are the Seahawks that sit out: Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Doug Baldwin, Earl Thomas, Frank Clark, the Shaq Griffins, Tyler Lockett, and just for fun, Rashaad Penny. That’s less than 20 percent, but it’s good enough. Are you going to change the channel Sunday because they’re not playing? Are you going to go to the lake instead of CenturyLink because Austin Davis got the start? You know you’re going, because it’s still your team out there. The Seahawks are playing, and you’re the 12th Man, no matter who the first 11 are.