NFL legend Brian Dawkins has called out the Department of Homeland Security for repurposing his career highlights in a shocking new anti-immigration video.
On Sunday, Homeland Security replied to an X post that claimed a “huge migrant caravan” was headed towards the U.S. southern border.
Their comeback was a video featuring a supercut featuring Dawkins, a Pro Football Hall of Fame player for the Philadelphia Eagles who earned the nickname “Weapon X” for his aggressive playing style.
DHS captioned the propaganda video, which showed some of Dawkins’ most brutal and violent collisions, “Our time has come”—a phrase which the NFL player can be heard chanting in the background.
It uses the song “Blind” by rock band Korn as the soundtrack.
The NFL told ESPN it had requested the video be removed, but it remains online. The outlet also contacted Dawkins, who said, “I have very respectfully not given permission.”
Dawkins, 52, also posted a video online, saying, “Let’s be clear, I didn’t give permission for my name, image and likeness to be used by anybody,” he said in the video, adding, “Take a deep breath.”
Dawkins retired in 2012 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
One social media user pointed out the “hypocrisy” of conservatives using footage of Dawkins for the DHS post, “considering they go ballistic if an athlete `mixes politics with sports’.”
The Daily Beast has contacted DHS, Korn and the NFL for comment.
DHS spokesperson Chandler Rebel told Forbes in a statement, “DHS is playing lockdown defense at the border. We will use every Weapon at our disposal, from A to X, to keep Americans safe.”
The White House used NFL footage interspersed with military strikes from Trump’s Iran war as part of a video they posted in March. The video used “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC as its soundtrack.
The caption was “Touchdown.” It remains online, with music intact.
Musicians including Taylor Perry, Katy Perry, Kesha, Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter have successfully had their music removed from Trump administration videos.
Perry said the use of her song “Firework” in a White House TikTok video with the caption “Iran has been warned” left her “deeply appalled and angry.”
She wrote, “I did not approve this, I was not asked and absolutely I do not condone it.”
