Is America's sport getting split down the red-blue political divide? There's evidence suggesting so, according to The New York Times.
David Leonhardt, editor of The Upshot section in the Times, reports that there is a strong correlation in certain U.S. states between high school football participation and whether those states have voted for Democrats in recent elections, as well as the levels of education in those states.
The more left-leaning and degree-bearing the population, the lower the high school football participation rates.
Nationally, high school football participation has dropped by 15 percent in the past six years in two blue-voting states: Wisconsin and Minnesota. Those states also rank among the most educated states in the union, in terms of the percentage of adults with college degrees.
Other states with similar correlations include Colorado, Massachusetts, Maryland and New York.
Meanwhile, of nine high school football games that have been cancelled due to injury and safety concerns, eight were in traditionally blue states.
The column's evidence isn't exactly scientific, but it does raise some worthwhile points regarding football's changing status in America.
It's unclear whether the current unrest regarding the sport will trigger a larger and continuing trend away from youth participation in football, but at least one major segment of the population might be slowly cleaving from the sport.