Blue Lives Matter, a pro-police organization, shut down an NFL team that reached out for a marketing partnership, according to the New York Post.
Even though no New York Jets player protested during the national anthem last season, Blue Lives Matter founder Joe Imperatrice rejected the proposal almost immediately.
“Although I’d love to work with an NFL team right now, I feel it is not the right time,” Imperatrice wrote in response to Jets staffer Anthony Bulak. “All over the United States players feel entitled to disrespect our first responders, our military members both past and present, and our flag. These players make more money in a season than some people make in a lifetime and their ‘issues’ are made up, exaggerated, and more times than not, false.”
What’s the problem?
Possibly taken aback by Imperatrice’s quick and sharp response to his email, Bulak tried to separate the Jets from the anthem controversy.
“I appreciate you sharing your opinion, and although I can’t comment too much on it, what I will say is the Jets have never had a player protest our anthem,” Bulak replied. “The Jets have always been supportive of our police, firefighters, EMTs, etc. and will continue to do so.”
“If I am correct the JETS may have signed an individual who depicted a Grim Reaper slicing the throat of a police officer,” Imperatrice wrote, attaching a photo of a 2016 Instagram post by running back Isaiah Crowell, who played for the Browns at the time and just signed with the Jets.
Crowell’s picture, which he deleted and apologized for, indeed showed a cartoon of a dark, shadowy figure slicing the throat of police officer. It was captioned “Mood: They give polices all types of weapons and they continuously choose to kill us…#Weak.”
No word on how, or whether, Bulak responded to Imperatrice after that.
(H/T USA Today)