The NFL has pissed off a lot of people this season (see NFL to Bribe Kneeling Players with $89 Million and Surprise! Football Fans Demand Refunds for ‘NFL Sunday Ticket’. And Get Them…). Pissing all over the National Anthem will do that. Portraying the people who're upset as the weird ones, doesn't help.

So with only one game left, why not further alienate people? That's the only reason I can see for rejecting an AMVETS ad asking people to #PleaseStand.

I can't imagine a worse business decision if they replaced Justin Timberlake at halftime with Lena Dunham reading from The Vagina Monologues.

The ad, which would have cost the veterans organization $30,000, features the tag “#PleaseStand” with a picture of service members saluting the American flag and information on how to donate to the congressionally-chartered organization.

Group leaders said NFL officials refused to include the ad in their Super Bowl publication, but did not issue a reason why. In a statement, AMVETS National Commander Marion Polk said the issue is one of fairness and respect.

“Freedom of speech works both ways. “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.”

CNTL+ALT+yes, private companies are free to choose what commercial they air on their shows. Okay? Okay. The NFL has the same rights as Christian bakers. If Christian bakers had rights.

But the NFL saying the Super Bowl has "...never been a place for advertising that could be considered by some as a political statement" has forced me to cut off my big toe, such was the severity of gout. You mean like when Bud Light got in bed with social justice warriors? Kind of seems like a political statement. The Executive Producer of the Super Bowl has also admitted he plans to show players kneeling. Making a political statement. So.

The NFL doesn't seem to get it. The outrage over the anthem isn't a Fox News America vs MSNBC America thing. The reason the anthem-kneeling resonates is due to apolitical people finding offense at the protests. Middle Americans, who aren't going to be thrilled the league decided to insult the old timers selling flags outside of the supermarket. May as well throw a dress on Tom Brady to make him the new face of pink razors. Yes, a non-sequitur. It's on purpose.

Maybe the NFL is doing AMVETS a favor. By rejecting them, the NFL is now giving extra attention to an ad that would have been buried between beer commercials and movie trailers. More attention to AMVETS equals more donations. Especially with the amount of patriotic Americans pissed at the NFL for reasons documented all season.

Still, we'll see how well the organization sticks to it's "no political statements" during the big game.

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