Ray Didinger: 'Teams Could Start Pulling Apart' Over National Anthem Protest
Philadelphia (CBS) - The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants on Sunday in thrilling fashion thanks to a 61-yard field goal by Jake Elliott, as the clock ran out.
That huge home opener win was somewhat overshadowed, though, by what President Donald Trump had tweeted over the weekend. Trump condemned the NFL players who sit out or take a knee during the playing of the national anthem, saying they should be suspended or fired. Images were seen across the country of players, coaches and even owners arm-in-arm or kneeling during the national anthem Sunday, including here in Philadelphia.
Author and Comcast SportsNet host, Ray Didinger, tells The Chris Stigall Show on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT that Sunday's games were the easy games for the NFL. So where do you go from here?
"Now is it (reaction to Trump's comments) enough to threaten the future of the league? I don't think so. But that feeling is definitely out there. What I'm thinking, and nobody has really talked about this yet, is to me, yesterday was the easy day for the NFL. I mean, players all locking arms and the owners standing with them, I fully expected that. I mean, what we saw yesterday across the league, I fully expected that. Where do you go from here? What's next week? What's the week after that? That's when teams could start pulling apart."
Didinger says there is an erosion taking place in the audience that could threaten the business model of the NFL.
"I mean, I think the TV ratings over the last couple of years kind of suggest that. You saw some of it last year, its continued into this year. Are some people getting disenchanted? Are some people walking away? Are some people saying that's enough of that, and I don't need to deal with that on my Sundays? Yeah, I do think there's some of that."
