South Carolina Restaurant Sticks With NFL Boycott After Business Goes Up

A business owner in South Carolina has decided to boycott the NFL for the second consecutive season after business went up in the first.

Dave Pettinelli, who owns Dave’s Place in Lugoff, is a veteran who said he disagrees with the protests some players have engaged in during the National Anthem, arguing that they should protest during a different time and place, instead of before football games.

He said business was stronger during year one of his boycott, but he actually did it because of the protests.

“People come in and they tell me I’m doing the right thing,” Pettinelli told WIS-TV. “I’ve noticed business has gone up as a result of the sign but that’s not why I did it. It’s my personal belief and opinion and that’s why I put it up in the first place.”

READ MORE

• DirecTV Refunds NFL Sunday Ticket Customers After National Anthem Protest
• Florida Restaurant Won’t Show Most NFL Games After National Anthem Protests
• Nike Customers Burn Clothes After New Campaign Featuring Kaepernick Announced

He said he would like to see the league and its players come up with a plan of action outside the football field.

“If you want to be productive and not divisive, do it outside the stadium,” Pettinelli said.

“Talk to law enforcement, talk to the young people in these inner cities, talk to them about the gangs, talk to them about vocational schools or going to college. These are all the things we need to project to our young people and I don’t think they’re getting their point across to these people.”

Other Businesses Boycott NFL

A number of business owners across the country have made similar decisions, such as the owners of a Florida restaurant who recently announced they canceled their DIRECTV NFL Sunday Ticket package over the protests.

Another business owner in Ohio said his business had gone up after choosing not to air or stream the games.

“Every day our sales have been up between 200 and 300 percent,” Bill DeFries, owner of Beef O’Brady’s in Beavercreek, told the Dayton Daily News.

“People we have never seen before are driving hours to support us and the employees. We have received heart-warming and supportive phone calls, emails and direct messages from people all over the United States thanking us.”

New Season Starts

Pettinelli’s decision comes as the new NFL season starts on Sept. 6.

READ MORE

• More People Burn Nike Shoes, Products After Kaepernick Campaign

The Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons are set to play. A number of games will then be held on Sunday.

NFL viewership for last season was down about 10 percent, a drop attributed in part to the ongoing National Anthem protests. Playoff ratings were down as well, including 13 percent in the first round and over 16 percent, or 23.3 million total fewer viewers, in the second round.

Ratings for the NFL, a highly competitive game that saw the Eagles triumph over the New England Patriots, were the lowest in nine years, reported Deadline. While 103.4 million people still tuned in, the ratings were a seven percent decline from 2017 and the lowest number of viewers since the 2009 Super Bowl.

From NTD.tv