Former NFL players blasted the White House for using their football highlights in a video hyping President Donald Trump’s war in Iran.
The White House’s meme-happy social team posted a montage last Friday that splices together NFL and college football highlight-reel collisions with footage from U.S. military strikes against Iran, set to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.”
Several NFL players are speaking out against the administration for using their athletic feats to make light of the war in Iran, which has claimed the lives of more than 1000 civilians and at least seven U.S. service members.
Retired wide receiver Kenny Bell, whose block in a 2012 Big Ten title game was juxtaposed with a U.S. missile strike in the White House’s video, told The Washington Post, “For that play to be associated with bombing human beings makes me sick.”
“I don’t want anything to do with images like that,” said Bell, 34, who played for the University of Nebraska and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015.
Former Tampa Bay linebacker Mason Foster, whose hit on New England Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco appears in the White House’s video, said he was “at a loss for words.”
“It’s a strange feeling, seeing those clips like that. I don’t think anything going on in the world today is as simple as a great football play or a hit. I’m still wrapping my head around it,” Foster, 37, told the Post.
He added, “When people are losing their lives, I don’t think it can compare to a game.”
Another player featured in the video, Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed, who won Super Bowl XLVII with the Baltimore Ravens, wrote on X, “I do not approve this message.”
Retired Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis also objected to being included, with a representative telling HuffPost, “This is something we do not agree with and would like Ray to be removed.”
Bell and Foster told the Post they want the White House to take down the video, or for rights holders such as the NFL to pursue its removal. The NFL is typically strict about its copyrighted material on the internet, according to the Post.
“I don’t think I’m even allowed to use that clip, because I don’t own it,” Bell said. “So I would like the NFL, the networks, to treat the White House like they’d treat me. To re-instill some faith in these institutions, you have to start holding our leaders accountable.”
When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told the Daily Beast in a statement, “Under the decisive leadership of President Trump, America’s heroic warfighters are meeting or surpassing all of their goals under Operation Epic Fury. The legacy media wants us to apologize for highlighting the United States Military’s incredible success, but the White House will continue showcasing the many examples of Iran’s ballistic missiles, production facilities, and dreams of owning a nuclear weapon being destroyed in real time.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the NFL for comment.
Trump’s White House has come under fire from numerous celebrities for using them to push their agenda online.
Director and actor Ben Stiller blasted the White House last week for using a clip from his 2007 film Tropic Thunder as part of last week’s “Justice the American Way” video, which cut between footage of missile firings in Iran and clips from a range of Hollywood films.
“Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip. We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine,” Stiller, 60, wrote. “War is not a movie.”
