DirecTV is offering full refunds for “NFL Sunday Ticket” customers who say they are offended by NFL players disrespecting the American flag. DirecTV customers can call or cancel online.
In order to receive a full refund — up to $300 — they must choose the option that says they are offended by NFL players kneeling during the national anthem.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that DirecTV began offering NFL Sunday Ticket refunds after calls flooded customer service from angry customers asking for cancellations.
Mark Hoffman, a longtime subscriber to Sunday Ticket, told the WSJ he was surprised when he called to cancel and was told he would get a full refund.
“I honestly didn’t think I’d get a refund,” said Hoffman, “I know their guidelines, I just wanted to make a point.”
Another former subscriber, Paul Alvarado of Keller, Texas, told The New York Post, “I want to spend my money somewhere where it’s gonna be appreciated. I’m paying for a product that should not include that kind of anti-American sentiment.”
So far, hundreds of customers have canceled their NFL Sunday Ticket packages. Thousands more cancellations are expected as word spreads.
The NFL protest began with a single player, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, refusing to stand for the national anthem. After speaking to his coach, Kaepernick got off the bench and kneeled instead.
At the time Kaepernick said he refused to honor the flag or America to protest police brutality against unarmed black men.
But Kaepernick’s activism has devolved into an anti-Trump protest by athletes who hate the president. Kaepernick, who is a free agent, no longer supports the protests.
Some customers who canceled their NFL Sunday Ticket packages before DirecTV started offering refunds will not be reimbursed.
A spokesmen for DirecTV’s parent company AT&T Inc. and the National Football League have not commented on the refunds, according to Breitbart News.
