There is no questioning which player in the National Football League may be the most polarziing as we sit here today. As he continues to protest during the national anthem, San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick is also the most disliked player in the NFL right now, according to a recent poll.
Darren Rovell of ESPN reports poll results gathered and shared by E-Poll Marketing Research last week shows 29 percent of 1,100 Americans polled say they “dislike” Kaepernick the most.
Finishing behind Kaepernick in this category was Jameis Winston of the Tampa Bay Bucs (22 percent), Ndamukong Suh of the Miami Dolphins (21 percent), New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (13 percent), and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers (10 percent). For those keeping score at home, that’s two quarterbacks previously connected to allegations of sexual abuse, one quarterback who cheated (in the view of the NFL, at least), and one defensive player known to stomp on his opponents.
The biggest mark against Kaepernick has been him taking a knee during the national anthem to spread awareness of social injustices in our communities.
Going a little deeper, 36 percent of NFL fans identified in the poll say they dislike Kaepernick “a lot,” which is up 10 ticks from a similar poll released just two years ago. The same poll shows 42 percent of African-Americans say they like Kaepernick “a lot.” Surprised? Of course not!
None of this should be too surprising, however. Kaepernick has ignited a spreading and growing movement that has even spread its wings to other sports and football at all levels. It’s polarizing in how it has been viewed and responded to, and this poll reflects that.
[ESPN]
