Seems the NFL and the New York Jets have about the same respect as Obama does for our military. The New York Jets are so pitiful, were paid by the National Guard and the Department of Defense to salute the troops at home games. Of course, it’s not just Jets. They are among 13 teams paid by the Defense Department to salute out troops. That’s true patriotism folks.
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| Pathetic! NFL New York Jets paid to salute troops |
It’s not as if the NFL wasn’t already getting its share of black eyes in the media, but a story like this one is particularly painful when it involves the team that you root for. The league is well known for sponsoring a number of charitable events, along with other “non-football” related activities promoting community and national service. One of the most touching – at least for me – is the way that the teams in the league have embraced the military, our veterans and current service members, and paid homage to the sacrifices they make for the nation. The military embraces the league in return, doing flyovers, flag displays and marching bands. It’s all a very good thing.
That’s why it was such a shock to find out that a number of the teams – including the New York Jets – were charging the military for these displays of patriotism.
The New York Jets even had the nerve to try and justify being paid to salute our military.
This was covered – and rightly criticized – in recent New York Daily News opinion piece, THE NEW YORK JETS’ CHEAP INSULT TO MILITARY HEROES. To be clear, the Jets aren’t the only ones involved. Thirteen teams in all have been raking in a total of more than five million dollars between 2011 and 2014 to put on these displays where they honor our troops on the field, allow them to be honorary team captains and receive similar homage. The Jets alone received $377K.
To make matters worse, when confronted about it, a Jets representative tried to justify it as just another business arrangement.
This is the NFL in 2015. Deflategate, women beaters, and taking money to salute our military.