The NFL has refused to allow an ad by a Veteran group in the Super Bowl this year. Here’s the ad in question:
Here’s more:
NY POST – In trying to avoid a national anthem controversy, the NFL has sparked a national anthem controversy.
The league is under fire again for rejecting a Super Bowl advertisement from a veterans group that urged people to stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The league invited American Veterans (AMVETS) to place a one-page ad for the Super Bowl LII program, and the completed submission included an American flag alongside the words, “#PleaseStand.” The ad will not run, which now has AMVETS crying censorship.
“Freedom of speech works both ways,” AMVETS national commander Marion Polk wrote in a letter to commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday. “We respect the rights of those who choose to protest as these rights are precisely what our members have fought — and in many cases died — for. But imposing corporate censorship to deny that same right to those veterans who have secured it for us all is reprehensible and totally beyond the pale.”
The NFL, which has been unwittingly at the forefront of the protest movement initiated by Colin Kaepernick, maintained that it was trying to keep its Super Bowl program free from political statements. In doing so, of course, critics see a political statement.
“The Super Bowl game program is designed for fans to commemorate and celebrate the game, players, teams and the Super Bowl,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told USA Today. “It’s never been a place for advertising that could be considered by some as a political statement. The NFL has long supported the military and veterans and will again salute our service members in the Super Bowl with memorable on-field moments that will be televised as part of the game.”
I get why people are upset about this, especially with the year the NFL has had on the issue of players not standing for the National Anthem.
However I also understand why the NFL, on its biggest night of the season, is trying to avoid creating more controversy by dredging up this issue again.
I think most people just want some friends over and to have a good time watching Tom Brady lose another Super Bowl, but perhaps I’m an outlier. What do you think?