In recent times the NFL has been taking hits including stadium attendance but now in a new poll, the league’s favorable ratings have also dropped.
Now, only 46 percent of voters have a positive view of the NFL, while 41 percent view it negatively.
Just four years ago, the last time the same question was asked, 64 percent had a positive view of the league and 19 percent were critical, according to the poll.
The poll was conducted by telephone with live interviewers between Oct. 22 and 24, 2017, using a random national sample of 1,005 registered voters.
The significant drop downward stems mainly from Republicans changing their views of the league. Republicans dropped -37 points, whites -23 points, men -23 points and independents -14 points.
However, the majority of Democrats and nonwhites continues to have a positive view of the NFL, while there is still a drop in favorability among these groups. Positive views among Democrats is down 6 points (66 percent in 2013 to 60 percent now) and nonwhites are down by 3 (64-61 percent).
The poll also asked if people thought kneeling during the national anthem is appropriate, it found that 44 percent did think that way, up from 41 percent who felt that way last month and 32 percent who said so in September last year. But still, the majority of voters think that it is inappropriate (52 percent).
Of the voters who have an unfavorable opinion of the NFL, an overwhelming number think kneeling is inappropriate (78 percent), while those who have a favorable view of the NFL think it’s appropriate (62 percent) to kneel.