The ripple effects of the 2016 election on the NFL

By now, days after the presidential race has been called, you’re either inconsolable mess or ready to Make America Great Again. Political tensions aren’t likely to ease anytime soon, but without a chance at effecting a change through voting again still a ways off, there’s only so much that can be done.

If it’s distraction you seek, football is more than happy to provide it, though of course the NFL is not fully removed from politics. In fact, Donald Trump used the NFL as a talking point through the campaign, more than once decrying the concern about concussions to somehow be proof of the softening of American culture. There was also a Trump ad targeting men who would prefer that the Washington Redskins name remain unchanged.

So what things that happened throughout the country on Election Day relate to the NFL? Let’s review.

The San Diego Ballot Measure to Fund a New Chargers Stadium Failed

Measure C, which would have raised hotel occupancy taxes to help pay for a new stadium for the Chargers, failed to garner the necessary two-third majority to pass. It ended up with 57 percent support. At this point, the Chargers plans are unclear. Team president Dean Spanos said he was waiting on more information before making another attempt at a voter initiative in 2017 or exercising the team’s option to join the Rams in Los Angeles in a new stadium in 2019.

Legal Recreational Weed Passed in a Few More States, Which Got The NFLPA Thinking

With legal recreational weed becoming more and more available, the players union announced Wednesday that it is forming a committee to study the use of marijuana as a method of pain management for players and how the union can get the league to potentially allow players to use weed for that purpose. Certainly this is a preliminary move, though it’s a signal that someone is hearing the players who are becoming increasingly vocal that marijuana should be available to players as a medication. That may be years in the offing because it likely also requires the federal government to lift its ban on the substance, though this is at least some very incremental progress. 83 percent of the 226 NFL players recently anonymously polled by ESPN said that they have used marijuana to treat concussion symptoms. A higher percentage of players preferred marijuana to painkillers for recovery.

Colin Kaepernick Didn’t Vote

The most politically active player in the NFL made no bones about his dislike for both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in the past few months, so it shouldn’t come as too great a surprise that he declined to vote for either. Some pointed out, though, that even if Kap had deep reservations about the presidential candidates, there were other ways he could have further black causes on the ballot.