As the troops face uncertainty and the USAF moves to kill Close Air Support and the A-10, the NFL has Deflate gate and faux patriotism to deal with…..
The price of supporting the troops is paid to the NFL
The scene is familiar at any sporting event. The PA announces, “Ladies and gentlemen, please turn your attention to our Hometown Hero,” and the JumboTron shows Petty Officer Binotz or Master Sergeant Jones, waving humbly, flanked by cheerleaders. The moment, though perhaps reductive and saccharine, is nonetheless touching: a fleeting opportunity to connect to whatever we feel toward the troops — memories of friends lost, of family members’ service, of the people we might have been.
In some NFL stadiums, that moment is a paid commercial. A report by NJ.com revealed that several such salutes were the product of marketing contracts bought with taxpayer money:
The Department of Defense and the Jersey Guard paid the Jets a total of $377,000 from 2011 to 2014 for the salutes and other advertising, according to federal contracts. Overall, the Defense Department has paid 14 NFL teams $5.4 million during that time, of which $5.3 million was paid by the National Guard to 11 teams under similar contracts.
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