Investing.com - Protests during the U.S. national anthem are becoming a big issue for the NFL. It started last season when quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand. Things escalated last weekend when President Trump tweeted against protesting. Trump’s tweets sparked a huge backlash. Bringing politics into sports could be hurting business. Ratings fell 8% last season. This season they’re down again. A summer poll said anthem protests were the biggest reason viewers tuned out. NFL game broadcasters – including CBS (NYSE:CBS), Disney (NYSE:DIS), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Fox (NASDAQ:FOX), and AT&T (NYSE:T) – have seen stock prices drop 2%-9% this month. Just barely a month into the 2017 football season, it's too early to tell if Trump's NFL feud with players will hurt broadcasters What we do know for sure is that it’s dividing fans.