(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) The Philadelphia Eagles franchise came under fire Monday after advertisements using the NFL team’s branding popped up around the City of Brotherly Love, appearing to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president, NBC Philadelphia reported.
Unverified reports suggested that the provocative displays might have been part of a guerilla “street art” installation by local activist Winston Tseng, according to the Gateway Pundit.
Tseng has put up ads featuring Joe Biden and Donald Trump that employ a similar artistic style.
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The ads, which declare Harris the “official candidate of the Philadelphia Eagles,” depict an image of a woman, presumably Harris, wearing an Eagles helmet and holding a football.
Many people were unhappy with the ads, which were posted at various bus stops across the city.
Some went so far as to accuse the Eagles of declaring “war” on Trump supporters while asserting that recent personnel changes had turned the Super Bowl LII champions into a squadron of wimpy beta males.
It starts with firing Doug Pederson and abandoning your franchise QB, Carson Wentz.
It ends with drafting Jalen Hurts and endorsing Kamala Harris.
The Eagles have just declared war on alpha males and Trump supporters.
Bad things happening in Philadelphia! pic.twitter.com/d6XkFU0MDl
— Nick Adams (Alpha Male) (@NickAdamsinUSA) September 2, 2024
In response to the criticism, the organization quickly distanced itself from the ads, claiming in a post on X that they were “aware counterfeit political ads are being circulated and are working with our advertising partner to have them removed.”
We are aware counterfeit political ads are being circulated and are working with our advertising partner to have them removed.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 2, 2024
The ads do, however, include a link to a live URL, the Philadelphia Eagles official website, which contains nonpartisan resources and information encouraging fans to vote, along with a collection of links to make voting more “accessible” and help “first time voters” get “voter ID assistance.”
And though it appeared that the Eagles had nothing to do with these particular ads, it may have seemed plausible for the team to endorse the radical leftist Democrat, in light of past examples of virtue-signaling.
Last season, Eagles management censored George Norcross, a New Jersey businessman and Democrat Party organizer, for flying a half American–half Israeli flag from his private box seats in the stadium during a game.
After the confrontation, which resulted in his removal from the premises, Norcross issued a statement arguing that the NFL was guilty of having a double-standard in its enforcement of rules about political speech.
“As a longtime passionate fan and season ticket holder, I have watched the Eagles/NFL make clear and strong statements on numerous important civil justice issues and ethnic and world conflicts, including supporting the people of Ukraine,” Norcross said.
“[A]s a strong supporter of Israel—a country which was viciously attacked by the terrorist group Hamas less than a month ago—I thought it was an important statement to make,” he added.
