“If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL, or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU’RE FIRED. Find something else to do!” – Donald J. Trump on Twitter

NBC Sports Pro Football Talk reports that

The ABC sitcom Black-ish has never shied away from hot-button political topics. But NFL anthem protests are apparently a bridge too far.

Kenya Barris, the creator of Black-ish, confirmed that ABC declined to run an episode of the show that included characters arguing over football players kneeling for the national anthem. The episode was set to run on February 27 but was replaced with a rerun, and ABC has no plans to air the episode or make it available on any other platform.

“Given our creative differences, neither ABC nor I were happy with the direction of the episode and mutually agreed not to air it,” Barris told Variety. “‘Black-ish’ is a show that has spoken to all different types of people and brought them closer as a community and I’m so proud of the series.”

There’s been no indication that the NFL leaned on Disney (which owns ABC and ESPN) not to air the show, although Disney has been accused of kowtowing to the NFL in the past. In 2013, a report that the NFL pressured ESPN to pull out of a PBS Frontline show about concussions was denied by the NFL. In 2003, the NFL convinced ESPN to cancel the entertainment show Playmakers, which depicted professional football players engaged in illegal activities.

Six months ago, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL needs to move past the anthem issue. Six months later, this latest controversy shows the country has still not moved past it.

Hey, gentle readers, do you want to know why the Commish said that the NFL needed to “move past” the protests six months ago?

And, why that episode of “Black-ish” did not air?

“Creative differences”, my hindquarters.

In both cases, it was all about the Benjamins.

Per Breitbart.com from an article posted January 28th…

With the 2017 NFL season now down in the record books as having lost another ten percent in TV ratings, the league has found a $30 million dip in ad revenue, a report says.
As the final numbers for advertisement sales for the season were tallied, the league discovered that its revenue fell 1.2 percent because “makegoods” rose to beat rate increases. A makegood is a partial repayment of money charged to advertisers because the viewership did not reach the expected numbers to justify the top rate.

Revenue was reported at “$2.42 billion, down from $2.45 billion in 2016,” according to media industry trade magazine Ad Week. That is a $30 million loss according to Awful Announcing.

Even though advertisement rates went up on average across the networks, the hike in fees did not beat the paybacks that the league had to repay to its customers.

By November, Roger Goodell could fell the hot breath of torqued-off fans on the back of his neck. A Fox News Poll taken back then showed that

Forty-four percent think kneeling during the national anthem is appropriate, up from 41 percent who felt that way last month and 32 percent who said so last September.  Sill, a majority thinks it is inappropriate (52 percent).

Most Republicans (88 percent inappropriate vs. 12 percent appropriate), baby boomers (61-33 percent), men (60-37 percent), and whites (60-38 percent) think kneeling during the national anthem is inappropriate.

The opposite is true for Democrats (67 percent appropriate vs. 27 percent inappropriate), millennials (65-32 percent), and nonwhites (61-30 percent) who think kneeling is an apt form of protest.

Women (50 percent appropriate vs. 45 percent inappropriate) and independents (46-50 percent) are more divided on the issue.

Voters who have an unfavorable opinion of the N.F.L overwhelmingly think kneeling is inappropriate (78 percent), while those who view the NFL favorably think it’s appropriate (62 percent).

So, the question remains “Did Disney force the shelving of that episode of “Black-ish”?

I believe that they did.

The Disney Empire, including its Theme Parks, relies on the good will of average Americans.

If average Americans stop supporting Disney and all of their entities, including Disneyland and Disney World, the Disney Corporation will be in a world of hurt.

And, ABC is owned by Disney.

I believe that what we have witnessed in the case of the backlash against the NFL Protesters is the same thing that happened on November 8, 2016.

Just like the Presidential Election, average Americans decided that we had had enough of the intentional tearing apart of the fabric of our nation at the seams, for the sake of political expediency and selfish gain.

Just like the Democrats found out on November 8, 2016, average Americans will tolerate being abused and lectured to for only so long, before we let you know “how the cow ate the cabbage”.

And, in the case of the 2017 NFL Regular Season, a lesson was taught by average Americans, the NFL Fans who burned their Season Tickets and NFL Jerseys, and stayed at home instead of going to the games.

If that episode of “Black-ish” had aired, loyal Disney Fans may have damaged that brand like the loyal NFL Fans damaged the league…by taking a big bite out of their revenue stream.

And, if that happened, Goofy may have been laid off…and he would have been forced to seek a new job which he was qualified for.

And, unfortunately, the Democratic Party already has a Chairman.

Until He Comes,

KJ