When unemployed back-up quarterback Colin Kaepernick started encouraging NFL players to kneel during the national anthem, fans were upset.

But rather than reprimand players, NFL officials announced no one would be fired for disrespecting the American flag.

The controversy led millions of conservatives to swear off the league — and the boycott is leaving the massive NFL stadiums empty every Sunday.

It’s safe to say that league officials didn’t think it would be this bad.

At the New York Giants game Sunday, fed-up fans stayed home in the thousands —

The Giants weren’t the only New York team struggling to draw a crowd.

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The New York Jets game on Thursday against the first place Buffalo Bills, a hated rival, was also sparsely attended —

In Jacksonville, the crowd was even thinner —

And Houston, whose MLB team recently sold out every playoff game, fans stayed away as well —

No comment needed, indeed.

If the NFL doesn’t start winning back fans, it’s going to lose millions in ticket sales — not to mention advertising revenue.

The league office should act soon… or they should start writing up new resumes.

— The Horn editorial team