Philadelphia Eagles Tackle Fake Kamala Harris Endorsement

Amid the 2024 election, the Philadelphia Eagles are aiming to remove a counterfeit political endorsement advertisement of Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday.

According to images posted on social media, the political advertisements featuring Philadelphia Eagles’ branding have been spotted at Philadelphia bus stops and features a caricature side profile of Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, wearing an Eagles helmet and a message of endorsement with the text: “Official candidate of the Philadelphia Eagles.”

It also features an Eagles logo above “Kamala” in bold, white letters.

The advertisement, recently circulated throughout the city of Philadelphia and across social media on Monday, has raised questions on whether the ad was an official endorsement.

However, while the ad features Eagles branding, it is not a real advertisement as the team clarified in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.

“We are aware counterfeit political ads are being circulated and are working with our advertising partner to have them removed,” the Philadelphia Eagles said.

In addition, while it is still unclear who made the political advertisements, Eagles Nation addressed the advertisement on X stating that the team has not made any official endorsement.

“A photo of a billboard found in Philly of the #Eagles appearing to endorse Kamala Harris is making the rounds on social media. The team has not made any sort of official announcement, and their Voting Resource website listed on it hasn’t been updated since the primary elections,” Eagles Nation wrote on X.

At the bottom of the ad, there is a link that directs people to the official Philadelphia Eagles Voting website that encourages voter registration as it does not mention any political candidate nor an “official” candidate of the franchise. The site instead offers resources for voters in Pennsylvania, including voting information, education resources and ways to get involved.

While there is no known example of an NFL team endorsing a political candidate ahead of an election, in 2020 the league began the NFL Votes initiative, which is nonpartisan and encourages voting and civic engagement throughout the NFL and its communities.

Newsweek has reached out to Harris’ campaign via email for comment.

Meanwhile, this comes as Pennsylvania remains a key battleground state in this election with both candidates targeting the state, with Harris and Biden expected to attend a Labor Day parade on Monday in Pittsburgh. It will be the first time the two have shared a speaking slot on the political stage since Biden ended his re-election campaign in July, making Harris the candidate.

Their visit follows an appearance by Trump in the state on Friday, when he visited Johnstown, just 75 miles from where he was shot at during a rally on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania. One person was killed and two others injured, while Trump was hit in the ear.

Battleground states will play a key role in determining the result of this year’s election due to the Electoral College, which awards each state a certain number of electoral votes based on population. A presidential candidate needs to secure 270 electoral votes for victory, and winning the national popular vote does not guarantee success.

According to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, the vice president is 1.2 points ahead of Trump in the state, with 46.2 percent to his 45 percent.

Although Harris is leading in the polling averages, recent polls in Pennsylvania have also shown the pair tied, including the latest surveys conducted by Wick and Emerson College between August 25 and 29.

Meanwhile, other polls have shown Trump in the lead, including a Trafalgar Group poll from August 30, which put the former president 2 points ahead of Harris among likely voters. A SoCal Strategies poll from August 23 put the former president 1 point ahead, while a Fabrizio Ward poll from August 21 also put the Republican 1 point ahead in a head-to-head matchup.