Philadelphia Eagles Issue Statement After Team-Branded ‘Kamala’ Ads Are Spotted Around the City
The article discusses the backlash against the Philadelphia Eagles regarding counterfeit political ads featuring Vice President Kamala Harris. During the Labor Day weekend, images surfaced of a cartoonish Harris with an Eagles helmet, suggesting an endorsement of her candidacy. Fans and the public reacted strongly, as NFL teams typically refrain from political endorsements. The Eagles responded quickly, clarifying that these ads were fake and working to have them removed. This incident adds to Harris’s existing challenges as she navigates her political reputation, especially after a recent controversial interview. The Eagles, gearing up for a new season, are keen to dissociate from any political narratives that may distract from their footballing agenda.
If you’re an American who’s a little tired of political ads, you certainly aren’t the only one.
Just ask one of the NFL’s premiere franchises, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Yes, Americans who are tired of watching back-to-back commercials touting how wonderful (or awful) both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are — the top of the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively — have something in common with a valuable NFL franchise.
Only, in this case, the Eagles appears to have a legitimate gripe with just one of those candidates, and it’s not the one from the GOP.
To wit, over the Labor Day weekend, viral images began circulating that showed a cartoonish Harris in an Eagles helmet, accompanied with the verbiage, “Kamala official candidate of the Philadelphia Eagles.”
A photo of a billboard found in Philly of the #Eagles appearing to endorse Kamala Harris is making the rounds on social media.
The team has not made any sort of official announcement, and their Voting Resource website listed on it hasn’t been updated since the primary elections. pic.twitter.com/yh4YtRALwC
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) September 2, 2024
The images obviously caused a stir because, while individual NFL employees, executives and owners can obviously support any political figure they want, teams generally avoid such political endorsements.
(It caused especial social media agony for Eagles fans, which isn’t a surprise given the polarizing reputation of Harris.)
In fact, it caused such a stir that the Eagles, in an official capacity, had to respond to the viral images.
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
“We are aware counterfeit political ads are being circulated and are working with our advertising partner to have them removed,” the team flatly stated in a Monday X post.
WCAU also reported on the existence of these “counterfeit political ads.”
For Harris, this is just the latest speed bump the vice president has hit after giving a highly criticized interview with CNN on Thursday.
In fairness to her, this stunt may or not be her fault at all, but given Harris’ reputation for collecting celebrity endorsements, it’s hard to fault anyone for buying the authenticity of the ads.
For the Eagles, this is a decidedly bigger headache.
It was just eight short years ago in 2016 where a proliferation of national anthem protests, spearheaded by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, rocked the NFL — and its viewership.
Since then, the NFL has — mostly — avoided anything political for fear of similar backlash to the anthem protests.
While the Eagles have distanced themselves from the “counterfeit” ads, even the image of politicking over footballing can take hold in viral social media posts, and that’s the last thing the Eagles want.
Adding to the Eagles’ collective headache, the team is just days away from a highly-anticipated regular season debut when the team hosts the upstart Green Bay Packers in a rare Friday night game on Sept. 6.
“Counterfeit political ads” about Kamala Harris probably aren’t what they want to be dealing with.
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