Majority of Americans fully support the NFL’s kneeling ban according to new survey

A majority of Americans fully support the NFL's new kneeling ban, according to a poll by SurveyMonkey.

What's the background?

Last week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced a leaguewide ban on kneeling during the playing of the national anthem.

Players, however, are also not required to leave their locker rooms during the national anthem.

“It was unfortunate that on-field protests created a false perception among many that thousands of NFL players were unpatriotic,” the statement added. “This is not and was never the case.”

Goodell’s statement concluded, “We believe today’s decision will keep our focus on the game and the extraordinary athletes who play it — and on our fans who enjoy it.”

So what about this survey?

SurveyMonkey reported findings that 54 percent of Americans surveyed said that they supported the NFL's ban on kneeling, while 43 percent of those surveyed said that they did not approve of the ban.

• Of American NFL fans, 56 percent approved of the ban, and 42 percent opposed it.
• Of those who considered themselves to be "big fans" of the NFL, 59 percent approved, while 40 percent did not.
• Of American Democrats surveyed, 65 percent did not approve of the ban. While 62 percent of American Democrats also said that kneeling during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" has nothing to do with patriotism.

Regardless, 63 percent of those surveyed said that the policy will not have an effect on their plans to watch the NFL's upcoming season.

Twenty-one percent say that they are "now less likely to watch," and 13 percent say that they are more likely to watch the upcoming season as a result of the kneeling ban.

The poll, which was released on Wednesday, included responses from 1,795 U.S. adults. The survey was conducted May 24-25, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

You can read the survey's full results here.