CHRIS QUEEN: Mein Home Team Goose-Stepped in It With a Throwback Profile Pic.
NBC News cited one expert who gave the Falcons the benefit of the doubt:
“Absolutely there was no ill intent, and I can’t imagine in a million years the Atlanta Falcons would do something like” seeking Nazi alignment, sports logo historian Chris Creamer told NBC News on Thursday.
“It’s throwback weekend for the team, and the social media team just wanted to dress up like the players were going to, and it’s a very common thing that social media accounts do across all sports,” he said. “If a team’s wearing a throwback uniform, usually their profile photo will be updated to match that.”
You know what I think it is? I think it’s the gold stripes. (See? Tech fans ruin everything! I kid. I kid.) In all seriousness, I don’t think the Falcons meant anything negative at all. It’s just unfortunate that the combination of several factors made things really weird for the Dirty Birds.
It is the stripes in the above image – Atlanta’s original uniforms and logo were iconic; I doubt anyone would have complained if the Falcons announced that they wanted to celebrate the era of Steve Bartkowski:
I may be showing my age here, but the first thing that came to mind when I saw this helmet was former @AtlantaFalcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski. https://t.co/nTZ8AMNMVz pic.twitter.com/FMgjMiszDh
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPai) July 20, 2023