Incoming: Here comes the NFL boycott

A growing population of sports fans is prepared to shun the National Football League following controversy over athletes who chose not to stand during the national anthem. The movement is escalating. Such hashtags as #BoycottNFL have emerged on Twitter, while there are not one but three Boycott the NFL sites on Facebook which have already accrued over 100,000 followers. One is asking Americans to turn off the games on Veteran’s Day next month.

News organizations in both Chicago and Boston report that local bars and VFW posts will no longer show NFL games on their premises. Bill DeFries — a military vet and restaurant owner in Beavercreek, Ohio — says he got “overwhelming” support from customers after imposing his own NFL ban. Then there is Schilling Distributing Company, a veteran-owned Louisiana beer distributor that is pulling all Bud Light products that use the NFL as a point of sale from their sales list.

“There is no need for us to ask our retailer partners to promote such controversial organizations to help sell product,” Vice President Charles “Buddy” Schilling noted in a statement.

Now there’s a call for a formal boycott of NFL games on Sunday.

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