Poll: 67 percent of Americans say NFL players have the right to kneel

A majority of American voters, 67 percent, say NFL players have the right to take a knee in protest during the national anthem, a recent Quinnipiac University poll found.

That doesn't mean everyone thinks it should happen — 47 percent said they approve of the protests, while 47 percent disapproved. NFL players have kneeled or sat during pre-game anthem ceremonies as a way to protest racial inequality and police brutality.

White voters and men were two demographic groups that disapproved of the protests, while other groups approved or were split. Republican voters are the only group that largely said, 60-39 percent, that players do not have the right to protest this way, and 89 percent said they disapproved of the kneeling.

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The poll was conducted between Sept. 6-9, surveying 1,038 voters by phone. The margin of error is 3.7 percentage points. See more poll results at Quinnipiac University.