Veterans group’s ‘Please Stand’ ad for Super Bowl program denied by NFL

The NFL has rejected an advertisement from the American Veterans organization in the Super Bowl LII program because it could be seen as a “political statement.”

The full-page ad was a photograph of flag bearers with the hashtag #PleaseStand in large letters. It appears to be in reference to the NFL players who took a knee or sat during the playing of the national anthem this season.

At the bottom of the page was information on how to donate to AmVets, which says its mission is “to enhance and safeguard the entitlements for all American Veterans who have served honorably and to improve the quality of life for them, their families, and the communities where they live through leadership, advocacy and services.”

Marion Polk, national commander for AmVets, said during an interview Wednesday on Fox News that the NFL suggested a different message.

“We went in and said, ‘No, this is the ad that we want to place in the ... program,’ and last Thursday, I believe it was, they asked us to change our statement and put, ‘We stand for veterans.’ We decided that we were not going to change our ad,” Polk said. “We placed it as ‘Please Stand’ and under the First Amendment we have the right to do that. They cannot dictate to us what our ad reads because we were actually paying for the ad.”

Brian McCarthy, the NFL’s vice president of communications, said the ad wasn’t appropriate for the program.

“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.”

This is the ad that AmVets wanted to run:

Super Bowl LII is on Feb. 4 in Minneapolis, and the Patriots will play the Eagles. The Washington Post noted that player protests by either team stopped over the last month of the season “after the NFL agreed to provide approximately $90 million social causes deemed important by players.”

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 10:37 AM with the headline "Veterans group’s ‘Please Stand’ ad for Super Bowl program denied by NFL."