WASHINGTON — Fifty-four percent of likely Texas voters disapprove of NFL players’ protests of police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem, but 63 percent said the players have a right to kneel, according to Quinnipiac University poll results released Thursday.

The survey also found that 54 percent percent of those polled supported confirming Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, though the poll was conducted Sept. 11-17, mostly before a woman accusing him of sexual misconduct identified herself and detailed her allegation on Sunday.

The survey of 807 likely voters had a 4.1 percentage point margin of error. Other results from the poll released earlier this week showed Republican Sen. Ted Cruz with a 9-point lead over his Democratic challenger, El Paso Rep. Beto O’Rourke.

NFL players’ protests have become a flashpoint in the Senate race between Cruz and O’Rourke.

A video of O'Rourke explaining his support for the protests went viral, and earned him an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and mentions from celebrities and sports stars.

At a rally in The Colony on Aug. 27, Cruz said O’Rourke’s position is “markedly out of step with the vast majority of Texans.”

While 54 percent isn’t exactly a “vast majority” and the poll surveyed likely voters, not all Texans, the poll supports Cruz’s general assertion that many Texans disapprove of the protests.

Opposition is greater among Republicans, 59 percent of whom said the players did not have the right to kneel during the national anthem.

Cruz has released two ads attacking O’Rourke on the issue. Cruz unveiled the first at the August rally that featured retired Marine Sgt. Tim Lee, who lost both his legs in the Vietnam War.

"I gave two legs for this country. I'm not able to stand," Lee says in the ad. "But I sure expect you to stand for me when that national anthem is being played."

The second spot spliced O'Rourke's response to a question in a town hall to make it sound like he supported flag burning. O'Rourke previously said he opposes flag burning.

Most recently, the O’Rourke campaign received criticism after claims that the campaign had asked to take down flags at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post before an event in Navasota. The campaign denies asking to remove flags.

The other issue Thursday's release addressed was the confirmation of Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The confirmation initially appeared likely to sail through the Senate, but slowed down as reports emerged Friday that a letter that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., referred to the FBI included an accusation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh.

Christine Blasey Ford, a Palo Alto University professor, came forward on Sunday and said that an intoxicated Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and tried to remove her clothes at a party when the two were in high school more than three decades ago.

Former president George W. Bush has since said he will stand by Kavanaugh, who worked in his White House for five years as an associate counsel and then staff secretary.

Kavanaugh’s confirmation is a key issue ahead of the midterm elections. President Donald Trump made Supreme Court nominations a campaign issue in 2016.