Colin Kaepernick is now the most disliked player in the NFL according to a recent poll of Americans by E-Poll Marketing Research.
Last week for the poll, they asked 1,100 people whose demographics were representative of the general population. It was revealed that Kaepernick was “disliked a lot” by 29 percent of those polled, more than any of the more than 350 players asked about in the survey. Kaepernick finished ahead, in the dislike category, of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (22 percent), Miami Dolphins defensive end Ndamukong Suh (21 percent), New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (13 percent) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (10 percent).
Just for perspective, Winston and Big Ben were accused of rape, Roethlisberger on more than one occasion, Suh is considered the dirtiest player in the league and Brady is accused of being a cheater. Kaepernick is protesting the racism, oppression and police brutality against black people and other minorities.
The last time the poll was taken, in August 2014, he was fresh off leading the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship Game before losing to the Seattle Seahawks; he was only “disliked a lot” by 6 percent of the population.
The overall negative sentiment for Kaepernick is even higher among NFL fans. Today, 36 percent say they dislike him “a lot,” up from just 10 percent when last asked two years ago.
The poll shows 42 percent of African-Americans now say they like Kaepernick “a lot,” but they only make up 15 percent of the U.S. population.
While the poll shows he’s the most disliked player, his jersey sales have skyrocketed to the No. 1 spot, but the CEO of the poll explains the dissonance.
“Jersey sales represents a metric which shows how he has inspired a number of people who show support by opening up their wallet,” said Gerry Philpott, CEO of E-Poll. “There is no counter-metric that you can use for those who he has alienated or had never heard of him before, other than the sentiment we measured.”
Kaepernick’s highly publicized stand has obviously made him more relevant, even though he’s the backup to Blaine Gabbert and isn’t getting time on the field.
Only 24 percent of people said they knew his name two years ago. Last week, 42 percent of those polled were familiar.
source: ESPN
