Before the letter — your NFL Boycott continues this Sunday / Monday (Week 11 of 17). Remember, no social media comments, don’t attend games, don’t buy merchandise, and definitely don’t watch the games. To all media members: First, if you are covering the NFL & player protests this season, we want to say a BIG thank you for your hard work. It may not be easy for you to cover such a “divisive” topic, but your work is paying off. It is also in light of this that we, the creators of the #NoKaepernickNoNFL change.org petition, humbly say: DON’T FORGET ABOUT US! What do we mean? Over the past few weeks, especially since Week 3 when Donald Trump called the protesters “sons of bitches” for “disrespecting the country & flag”, media reports of the NFL’s falling ratings issues usually mention many things, including: “over-saturation of TV market”, “quality of games”, “CTE”, or more frequently, the backlash of player protests — also known as the “anthem issue”. While these may be true, one fact that you can not overlook is the fact that PEOPLE ARE BOYCOTTING BECAUSE COLIN KAEPERNICK STILL ISN’T SIGNED TO A NFL TEAM. Now for whatever reason, this fact has been “pushed aside”. Maybe its because there isn’t much “data” to support this particular reason. Maybe senior media editors don’t have have much “empathy” for the people boycotting due to Kaepernick’s blackball. Or maybe more people are upset about NFL players “disrespecting the military / flag” and are boycotting, or that NFL games on TV are “over-saturated”. We have a message for EACH one of these potential reasons. You may really want to read this further! 1. There isn’t much “data” to support Kaep’s blackball as a reason for falling ratings: This is true. There isn’t much data to show EXACTLY how many people have boycotted due to Kaepernick being blackballed — unless you see that more than 200,000 people have signed our petition to boycott games if he isn’t signed, or the fact that many others have PUBLICLY used their platform asking for a boycott, such as J. Cole, Shaun King, Justice League NYC, the #ImWithKap hashtag, Women’s March, Color of Change, and many, many others. Tamika Mallory even told people in support of Kaepernick back on an August 24th rally at NFL HQ to “turn the damn game off”. (Link: http://bit.ly/TurnGmOff) Even Golden State Warriors player David West, although not calling for a boycott, very recently said people boycotting the NFL due to the treatment of Kaep is a factor for NFL’s falling ratings (source: http://bit.ly/DWestComment). In all, although you (the media members) may think the people boycotting because Kaepernick isn’t signed is relatively small, you may be surprised how many people are REALLY boycotting the games. After all, out of the 200,000 who have at least signed our petition, they do have family members and friends — not to mention the many others who didn’t sign this petition who have boycotted. 2. Senior Media Editors don’t have much “empathy” for people boycotting due to Kaep’s treatment: We say “senior” media editors because, for the most part, they have the final say if an article gets published or not. They also have the power to say what the next story should be focused on. Now, if you are a media editor who DOES cover people boycotting due to Kaep’s treatment, we thank you! But the reality is that many MAJOR media outlets are not mentioning this. Why is that? How many Senior Editors are people of color in these MAJOR outlets? Empathy matters in these situations (a recent study told by NPR stated that empathy and a person’s “race” go hand-in-hand. Proof: http://bit.ly/NPRimBias). This matters. We’re not saying editors who aren’t of color don’t care…because many of them do. It just isn’t the majority. We target “major” outlets simply because they have the most reach…and set the national narrative when it comes to things like this. If you are a reporter, writer, etc and work for a major outlet, PLEASE pressure your senior editor to publish articles mentioning the fact that people have boycotted the NFL due to Kaep’s treatment as a reason for NFL’s falling ratings. To all other “non-major” outlets, the same applies. 3. More people are upset about NFL players “disrespecting the flag/military” while protesting. Ahhh, the reason most media outlets say when discussing why the ratings are falling. We’ve seen the comments on these articles, and on social media, and it is true that many people are boycotting due to their perceived notion of “anthem/military/flag disrespect”. The “president” Trump said so himself way back in Week 3, and blamed the falling ratings as such. Many others say the REAL “clear-cut” reason for falling ratings is the “anthem protest”, including the CEO of Papa John's, a NFL ad partner. Here’s a message to each of these individuals: It’s NOT about the military/flag — but we’ve told you this FOR OVER 1 YEAR, TIME & TIME & TIME AGAIN! At this point, if you’re reading this and still upset about “players protesting” during the anthem due to “disrespect”, and have stopped watching NFL games as a result, then you have made a CONSCIOUS choice to NOT CARE about the well-being of people of color, while supporting your country no matter what — right or wrong. A person who supports their country no matter what is a “Nationalist”, which is what you are. However, you are not a “Patriot”…as many of you THINK you are. The true patriots, as described by Dr. Michael Eric Dyson & recently told by current Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy, are people who “care deeply about their country & take it upon their duty to hold it accountable to its highest values & fight to make it the very best it can be”. (Proof: http://bit.ly/MeDSVG) So in this manner, Colin Kaepernick is a true American patriot, not the people who feel he’s “disrespecting the military/flag” by taking a knee during the anthem & are boycotting as a result. Even MILITARY VETS have publicly supported Kaepernick’s protest, as they felt that’s why they fought for their country — to uphold the constitution's standard for freedom, liberty, and the RIGHT to protest! These “fans” who are boycotting due to the “anthem disrespect” aren’t patriots. They would rather boycott games than care about issues that affects most of the players on their “favorite team” (remember, 70% of NFL players are Black). They want the players to shut up, simply so they can be “entertained”. They want the “old way” to continue, while people of color see police kill unarmed people who look like them on TV/Internet while getting PAID leave, feeling deep anger inside. While the justice system consistently treats people of color worse than whites during sentencing. While people of color see White Supremacists with Tiki Torches march and beat up people, without cops arresting them. While the top current U.S. Government officials don’t seem to care about issues concerning people of color, at all! Even with all of this, EVERY player who took a knee during the anthem PUBLICLY stated that they weren’t disrespecting the military. They praised the military. Some who protested even have FAMILY in the military. They have said this time & time again — for over 1 year! These fans aren’t patriots. These fans are “Nationalists”…and racists. That’s right, we said it…RACISTS! This is the cold truth. These fans may not be “outwardly racists”, they may be “subtle racists”…but they are still racists. A racist is a racist. And this is not a Black/White thing (as many of you are thinking right now). This is a HUMAN RIGHT thing. Simple -- although the majority of the discussions on this issue does fall along the color line, so it is what it is! Now this may upset many of you to read this, and maybe someone never told you this before, but if you fall into the description mentioned above, then you are a racist! We hate to be more “divisive” on this, but at this point we have to call a spade a spade! We’ve held our tongue for way too long. Just listen to what Fox Sports’ Nick Wright’s spot-on assessment on it: http://bit.ly/NWrightProtest For everyone who supports what Kaep stands for: Do you think you’re going to change these racist fans’ minds? Including Trump? Most likely not. But see it this way — when the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964 & Voting Rights Act passed in 1965, do you think millions of racists’ minds changed overnight? Nope…but they had to “adjust” to the new times, or it was against the law! They had no choice, no matter how much they tried to fight it. Heck, even the lawmakers didn't want to pass the '64 Act (proof: http://bit.ly/LbJBill). That’s what’s happening with the NFL now. Although the racist fans don’t realize it yet, their “old way” of watching NFL games is over. How do we know? When the CEO of Papa John's made his statement criticizing the NFL’s leadership over the “anthem issue”, the backlash on his brand was so much that his company recently had to apologize for his statement (proof: http://bit.ly/PJohnsSorry). Similarly, when a recent story came out about Brands wanting NBC Universal (a NFL broadcaster) to stop showing NFL protests, many people wanted to know the “names” of these brands so they can boycott them. These brands never said a word since…because they know taking the “disrespecting the flag/military” route, although their CEOs / Board may be satisfied, will do irreversible damage their “brand”. So what does this all mean? In the end, the NFL & its “owners” will have to follow the times. They will have to sign Kaepernick, so he can continue to make a living doing what he loves. They will have to protect players’ employment when future protests arrive. They will also have to support the main causes that LEAD to the protest in the first place (as stated in the end of this article: http://bit.ly/MeDSVG). If the racist “fans” get upset, so be it. But they will have to adjust…just like how the millions of racists had to adjust after the 1964 & 1965 Acts were passed. They will be alright. 4. NFL games on TV are “over-saturated” This won’t be long. The people who use the “TV/games over-saturated reason” will likely point to the fact that last season in 2016, NFL ratings were down 8%, so Colin Kaepernick’s “blackball” couldn’t be a real factor since the ratings were already falling last season. What doesn’t get mentioned, however, is that the 8% decline in ratings last season was the OVERALL ratings throughout; the first half of last season saw ratings actually dip 14% (due to an election coverage which got EVERYONE’S attention), but actually ROSE the last half of the season, bringing the overall total to a 8% dip. (Proof: http://bit.ly/2016rtngs). This means that the NFL ratings were actually RISING before Colin Kaepernick got blackballed. However, after his blackball, the NFL ratings have declined nearly EVERY week this season to historic lows, including the start of the 2nd half of this season & there’s no election to cast blame on this time. Network providers has mostly stayed the same from 2015 (when NFL ratings were at record peak), to now, when advertisers are set to lose MILLIONS due to low ratings. Colin Kaepernick’s blackball has been a factor. Let’s end this: To the media members, we know this was a long read (we really didn’t intend it to be this long when we started this), but all we ask is for you to NOT FORGET ABOUT THE PEOPLE BOYCOTTING THE NFL DUE TO COLIN KAEPERNICK BEING BLACKBALLED. Even if you don’t agree with boycotting games due to his treatment, you have to AT LEAST acknowledge that this is a reason for falling NFL ratings. You may cite various other reasons not mentioned here, such as CTE, Player Conduct, Millennials’ viewing habits (like they suddenly stopped watching TV last year), Streaming, etc. That’s fine. Just don’t forget about the many folks who are boycotting due to Kaep’s treatment. Keep up the great work. - The UNSTRIPPED VOICE team (who started the change.org #NoKaepernickNoNFL petition back on July 27, 2017) #ImWithKap #NoKaepernickNoNFL P.S.: If you feel that all the NFL has to do is to sign Kaepernick and the ratings issue will be “corrected”, you may want to think again. Many people aren’t going back to the NFL, due to them showing their “true colors” during this entire ordeal. This includes “both sides”. The NFL is in real trouble! Or as ESPN’s Jemele Hill put it best in a recent tweet: “A question I would love to ask an NFL owner/executive 10 years from now: Was keeping Colin Kaepernick out of the league worth it?” (this letter has also been added to the “Read the letter” section on the main page of our petition)