The Philadelphia Eagles on Monday confirmed they would work to remove unauthorized posters that appear to show the Eagles endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at Philadelphia bus stops.
On social media platform X, users uploaded images of the posters and questioned whether the NFL team had endorsed the vice president for the November election. The cartoon-like pictures showed Harris in an Eagles uniform and helmet, carrying a football, describing her as the “official candidate” of the team.
In a statement on social media Monday, the Eagles said they are aware that “counterfeit political ads are being circulated,” and the team is “working with our advertising partner to have them removed.”
Local Philadelphia media outlets reported that the posters were set up at bus stops in 16th and Spring Garden streets, 34th and Walnut streets, and 18th Street and JFK Boulevard. A website at the bottom of the posters offers voting information for residents of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Eagles Nation, a fan site that is associated with with the team, also noted on X that the Eagles have “not made any sort of official announcement, and their Voting Resource website listed on it hasn’t been updated since the primary elections.”
A spokeswoman for Intersection Media, a company that owns the ad space, told The Epoch Times on Tuesday that the company is aware its bus shelters in Philadelphia “have been vandalized and that the paid advertising copy in each of those shelters has been replaced with unauthorized copy,” responding to a question about the fake Eagles ads with Harris.
“While our bus shelters have locks that typically prevent the installation of unauthorized copy by non-Intersection staff, occasionally people find a way to unlock the ad box and insert unauthorized copy,” spokeswoman Katie Vroom said.
She also confirmed that the unauthorized advertisement included an implied “endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris by the Philadelphia Eagles,” adding that the Eagles and Intersection both “had nothing to do with the creation or posting of this unauthorized copy and Intersection staff will be removing the ads as soon as possible.”
The Epoch Times also contacted Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems for comment.
It’s unclear how many of the Harris–Eagles posters were placed around Philadelphia. Meanwhile, no artist or organization has officially claimed responsibility for the Harris posters in the city.
Also unclear is whether any NFL team has ever officially endorsed any presidential candidate, although the owners of teams have notably donated to particular candidates over the years.
A 2020 report from OpenSecrets found that NFL team owners more often donate to Republican candidates, with New York Jets owner Woody Johnson having donated $2.2 million in 2020 to GOP candidates, namely to Republican presidential candidate and then-President Donald Trump.
For the upcoming election, Pennsylvania, with 19 electoral votes, is considered a key swing state that could potentially alter the outcome of the election. Ballots will be mailed out 50 days before the general election in Pennsylvania, coming on Sept. 16 this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
A spokesperson for the Harris campaign did not respond to an Epoch Times request for comment by publication time.
From The Epoch Times