The story isn't the kneelers. It's the President of the United States acting in a way that is unbefitting of someone in his position and making an issue about him when it was never meant to be by the ones who started it.
It's all about Trump. He's no longer just another C-list celebrity voicing controversial opinions on Twitter. He's the president of the United States. Roughly a fourth of the electorate chose him to speak for them. The flag and the anthem didn't change between when there were a dozen people kneeling and when it was entire teams. What changed was Trump's involvement.
I'm not. Did I not say "to an extent?" Plus, it wasn't just the kneelers. Malcolm Jenkins, for example, has been protesting since last season, just not by kneeling.
Edit: Not sure how I didn't catch that I said "didn't not."
That may be, but nobody gave a shit. What made people give a shit was the president of the United States becoming involved. That's why it's front page news. Or rather, why it was, at the until his next -blam!- up.
Extensive coverage on ESPN, especially Dan Le Batard and Bomani Jones' radio shows. Although I guess you could say that just because they've been discussing it doesn't mean that the majority of their audience cares, in which case you'd probably be correct. Especially with Le Batard.