The Atlanta Falcons reportedly are refusing payment for military service recruitment advertising or any other deals — a practice that has come under attack as "paid patriotism."
"We'll do whatever we can to help in recruiting for all branches of the Armed Services," the owner of the NFL team, Arthur Blank, tells the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"But we're not going to bill anybody for anything."
A report released last November, titled
"Tackling Paid Patriotism," said the Falcons accepted $879,000 over a four-year period from contracts that included military tributes.
It also cited, as just one example of the practice, an event at the Georgia Dome, where 80 Georgia National Guard soldiers held a large American flag on the field to commemorate the birthday of the Army's National Guard.
The 2016 National Defense Authorization Act has already outlawed the practice,
The Hill reports, but Blank said he'd go further and not accept money for advertising or marketing still allowed under the law.
"We don't want any confusion about it," Blank tells the Journal-Constitution. "We're not going to accept any more monies under any contracts."