ATLANTA (February 1, 2018) | The State Senate today unanimously passed Senate Resolution 673 denouncing the National Football League (NFL) for rejecting a Super Bowl advertisement from AMVETS urging Americans to stand when the Flag is saluted.
“America’s veterans deserve the same free speech rights as protesting football players who refuse to stand when the Flag is saluted,” said Senator David Shafer (R-Duluth), primary author of the resolution. “The NFL has protected players who disrespect the Flag but when America’s veterans try to speak their minds, the NFL has no trouble telling them to sit down and shut up.”
The AMVETS advertisement depicted a military honor guard saluting the American Flag with the message #PleaseStand. NFL officials said they rejected the AMVETS ad because it is “political.”
“The AMVETS ad asking Americans to stand when the Flag is saluted is no more political than the disrespectful gesture of refusing to stand,” Shafer said. “Surely, we can all agree that veterans deserve the same free speech rights as football players.”
AMVETS is a veteran’s service organization chartered by Congress in 1944 during the Second World War.
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For Immediate Release:
February 1, 2018
Ines Owens, Director
ines.owens@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028