Oh, and now you believe the polls?? LOLOLOL!!! Too funny.
Follow the money, loser. May I repeat. You really are not very bright at all are you?
How NFL sponsors are reacting to Trump
After President Trump trashed the NFL for allowing players to protest during the national anthem, NFL sponsors are slowly beginning to respond to the political firestorm.
Some sponsors are issuing cautious statements that do not appear to take one side or the other, while others have unequivocally supported the players’ right to protest. The majority of sponsors have remained silent.
The NFL reaped $1.25 billion in sponsorship revenue last season. Its official league sponsors this season are: Anheuser-Busch InBev; Barclays; Bose; Bridgestone; Campbell’s; Castrol; Dannon; DMI; EA Sports; Extreme Networks; FedEx; Ford; Frito-Lay (PepsiCo-owned); Gatorade (PepsiCo-owned); Hyundai; Intel; Marriott; Mars; McDonald’s; Microsoft; Nationwide; New Era; News America; Nike; Papa John’s; PepsiCo; Procter & Gamble; Quaker; Sirius XM; Ticketmaster; Under Armour; USAA; Verizon; Visa; and Zebra.
Here’s a running list of all the sponsors to issue statements on the anthem protests so far. Yahoo Finance will keep updating it as more brands speak out.
This list was last updated at 7:33 pm EST on Sept. 25, 2017.
Washington Redskins players kneel or link arms during the national anthem before a game on Sept. 24, 2017. (Brad Mills-USA TODAY)
Under ArmourUnder Armour was the first official sponsor to issue any kind of statement in response to Trump’s comments Friday night. On Saturday morning, Under Armour sent out a tweet that carefully avoided taking a side.
The company said it “stands for the flag and by our Athletes for free speech, expression and a unified America.” It appears to voice support both for the anthem and for the players protesting during the anthem.
Ford Ford, also an NFL sponsor, said on Monday, “We respect individuals’ rights to express their views, even if they are not ones we share.”
The latter part of that sentence may look like a form of hedge—it suggests Ford may not share the view of the player protests. Like Under Armour’s statement, it avoids fully siding with the president or the player protests.
NikeOn Monday morning, Nike became the third NFL sponsor to issue a statement, and arguably the first to take a clear position: it sided with the players.
In a statement sent to the media, Nike said: “Nike supports athletes and their right to freedom of expression on issues that are of great importance to our society.”
HyundaiHyundai issued a statement on Monday afternoon that, like Nike, clearly sides with the players’ right to protest.
The statement says, “We stand for and respect individuals’ freedoms to express their first amendment rights in any peaceful manner in which they choose. We also stand for inclusion, freedom and all that represents those values.”
Anheuser-Busch InBevOn Monday night, a spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch InBev sent Yahoo Finance this statement, which appears to fall into the play-it-safe, neutral category along with Under Armour and Ford:
“At Anheuser-Busch we have a long heritage of supporting the institutions and values that have made America so strong. That includes our armed forces and the national anthem as well as diversity, equality and freedom of speech. We proudly employ over 1,100 military veterans and we work every day to create an inclusive environment for all of our employees. Because only together can we achieve our dream of bringing people together for a better world.”
Yahoo Finance will continue to track NFL sponsor responses closely. |
