AMVETS officials reported the National Football League won’t run their ad during the Super Bowl, presumably because it encourages players to stand for the national anthem.
It would’ve cost them $30,000, but the organization thought it was worth the cost to send this message to a culture desperately in need of a little patriotism: #PleaseStand. The ads would feature veterans standing to salute the flag, along with info on how people can donate money to a Congressionally approved charity. Wow. That doesn’t sound very controversial, does it?
Yet, the NFL rejected the ad buy and didn’t say why, according to AMVETS National Commander Marion Polk. Here’s a post that Polk posted about the controversy:
.@AMVETSHQ will NOT tolerate the @NFL refusing #Veteran right to free speech. We fought for it! #PleaseStand#SuperBowlpic.twitter.com/NARbC5zKuE
— Marion Polk (@AMVETSNatlCmdr) January 22, 2018
The Army Times reports that the NFL didn’t want the ads to be political:
In a statement, NFL Vice President of Communications Brian McCarthy said the Super Bowl game program “is designed for fans to commemorate and celebrate the game, players, teams and the Super Bowl. It’s never been a place for advertising that could be considered by some as a political statement.”
Wait, so football isn’t the place for a political statement? Isn’t that what patriotic Americans have been saying all along? McCarthy said AMVETS didn’t respond to a request for a content change fast enough and therefore missed the deadline.
Sounds suspicious to me.