CHRIS BUSKIRK: Kaepernick and Curry Pop the Sports Bubble. “Several new studies prove what we already suspected: Fans are leaving the NFL because of the players’ political activism that disrespects our country, its heritage, and its people. Sports executives such as CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus get it, too, but they’re caught in a crossfire that is only partly of their own making. . . . Sports have traditionally been a refuge from cultural and political controversy where Americans could come together and enjoy time with family, friends, and even complete strangers. Entering the stadium, they could check the cares of the world at the turnstile. That’s changed recently.”

Politics are ugly. If you let politics into your field, it will become ugly. You may think you can only let in a little bit of politics, the kind you think is pretty. But you can’t control that, and it will become ugly. The NFL, and ESPN, and many other institutions should have adopted a non-political stance, but couldn’t resist opening the door, and now they don’t like what’s come inside.