Veterans org accuses NFL of refusing to run ‘#PleaseStand' ad

A service organization representing 20 million U.S. military veterans is accusing the NFL of “corporate censorship,” after it says the league refused to run an ad that featured the phrase “#PleaseStand” along with a picture of service members holding an American flag.

In a scathing letter from the American Veterans National Commander Marion Polk addressed directly to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Polk says the league invited his organization (known as AMVETS for short) to publish an ad in the official Super Bowl LII program, but Goodell’s staff “refused to publish our ad because of it’s simple, two-word message.”

“Mr. Goodell, veterans are good for more than just military flyovers, photo opportunities during halftime, or props to sell camouflage-style NFL apparel,” Polk wrote in the letter. “The NFL’s stance on not allowing the veterans’ unfiltered voice to be heard says otherwise.”

Polk claims that both NBA commissioner Adam Silver and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman have allowed the exact same ad to run in game programs in their respective leagues.

“Freedom of speech works both ways,” Polk wrote. “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.”

Polk also tweeted a photo of the ad at the NFL on Monday, saying AMVETS “will NOT tolerate” the league “refusing #Veteran right to free speech.”

The protests during the national anthem, started by Colin Kaepernick in 2016 as a means to shine light on racial injustice and police brutality in America, grew from a league controversy to a nationwide firestorm in the fall, after President Donald Trump used the term “son of a b---h” when discussing the kneeling and demonstrating players in a speech.

Since that point, Goodell has tried relentlessly to quell the public-relations fallout of the protests. He helped mediate a meeting between the owners and player-leaders earlier this season to find ways to affect the change the protesters were seeking.

Allegedly preventing this ad from running in the Super Bowl program seems like another step taken by Goodell to keep the public’s focus on football, and not on the polarizing issue of protesting during the national anthem, during the league’s most important two weeks.

“While we are well aware of the controversy surrounding players kneeling during the National Anthem and the public relations problems this has caused the NFL, our ad is neither a demand nor a judgement upon those who choose to kneel during the National Anthem,” Polk wrote. “It’s a simple, polite request that represents the sentiment of our membership, particularly those whose missing or paralyzed limbs preclude standing”

“The NFL’s intention to avoid controversy in this instance by suppressing our voice will have the opposite effect,” Polk concluded, “and it will not be taken lightly by the hundreds of thousands of voices that AMVETS represents.”