The Philadelphia Eagles have taken steps to remove a series of unauthorized posters that appeared around the city on Monday, depicting Vice President Kamala Harris as the NFL team’s “official candidate”.
The posters, which showed Harris wearing an Eagles helmet and holding a football, claimed she was the endorsed candidate in the upcoming presidential election.
The Eagles quickly clarified that they had no involvement in the posters, describing them as “counterfeit political ads.” In a statement issued on Monday, the team confirmed that they were working with Intersection, their advertising partner, to have the posters removed. The posters were found in several locations throughout the city, including 16th and Spring Garden streets, 18th Street and JFK Boulevard, and 34th and Walnut streets.
Intersection, the media company that owns the bus shelters where the advertisements were displayed, also denied any involvement. Intersection’s spokesperson stated that the bus shelters had been vandalized, and the paid advertisements had been replaced with unauthorized content. The company promised that their employees would remove the posters as soon as possible and conduct a thorough inventory of all bus shelters in the city to prevent future incidents.
The posters included a link to the Eagles’ official voting resource page, philadelphiaeagles.com/vote, which contains nonpartisan information about voting in Pennsylvania. However, the website has not been updated since the primary elections earlier this year, and it does not support any political candidates.
The incident has prompted questions about who was in charge of creating and posting the counterfeit advertisements. The city of Philadelphia, the Harris campaign, the Eagles, SEPTA, and Intersection Media all denied any involvement. A city spokesperson stated that the posters were not the result of a digital breach, but rather were physically placed by someone who broke into the ad spaces.
While the Eagles have been vocal about their commitment to nonpartisan civic engagement through initiatives such as NFL Votes, this situation highlights how unusual it is for an NFL team to be falsely depicted as endorsing a political candidate. Pennsylvania, a critical swing state in the 2024 presidential election, remains a top priority for both major political parties.
The Eagles continue to collaborate with local authorities and Intersection to remove the counterfeit ads and ensure that their platforms remain focused on nonpartisan voter education.
Daily Mail, Newsweek and the Athletics contributed to this report.
