Pentagon paid sports teams millions for patriotic events
Mark Alesia, Bill Theobald and Maureen Groppe, IndyStar 1:42 p.m. EST November 4, 2015
The Indianapolis Colts, Indiana Pacers and the marketing company with rights to Indiana University and Purdue University sports staged phony military "paid patriotism" events, according to a report released Wednesday by Arizona Sens. Jeff Flake and John McCain.
The Pentagon paid more than $9 million to numerous professional sports teams the past four years to stage the events, which included full-field displays of the American flag; enlistment and re-enlistment ceremonies; and emotional reunion events where a service member returns to the surprise of family members.
“Unsuspecting audience members became the subjects of paid marketing campaigns rather than simply bearing witness to teams’ authentic, voluntary shows of support for the brave men and women who wear our nation’s uniform,” the report by the Arizona Republicans said.
“It is hard to understand how a team accepting taxpayer funds to sponsor a military appreciation game, or to recognize wounded warriors or returning troops, can be construed as anything other than paid patriotism.”
McCain is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
All of the contracts involving Indiana teams came from the Indiana Army National Guard. It paid at least $420,000 to the Colts — tenth-most among the teams mentioned in the report.
The marketing company holding rights to IU and Purdue sports, Learfield Communications, received at least a total of $400,000. The Pacers received at least $115,000. The report said the payments and the benefits listed may not be comprehensive.
At Colts games, the Indiana Army National Guard received the chance to conduct color guard demonstrations and full-field flag presentations. The Colts also gave on-field and public address recognition of a "hometown hero" or "wounded warrior."
The Colts responded to criticism in May after its deal became public.
"The vast majority of our honoring our service people is proudly done by us completely separate and distinct of any advertising agreement," Colts chief operating officer Pete Ward said at the time.
Ward noted that Colts owner Jim Irsay offered a Marine a job on the spot in 2007 while visiting wounded military personnel at Walter Reed Hospital. The man, who lost both legs, is still working for the team, Ward said.
IU, Purdue and the University of Wisconsin were the only college sports sports program mentioned in the report. IU did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Indiana Army National Guard paid for a media pass "to cover and capitalize on" games between IU and Purdue in 2014. It also received "on-court recognition" at a basketball game between the schools and on-field access at the Old Oaken Bucket football game.
A Purdue spokesman said the school would "defer to Learfield" for comment.
The Pacers also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The team was paid for soldiers to participate in player introductions and to have a pregame swearing-in ceremony.
The advertising-marketing contracts were intended to help with recruiting efforts, but the military has no hard evidence they were effective. Many of the agreements involved the National Guard.
Among the biggest beneficiaries were NFL teams, which were paid more than $6 million. The Atlanta Falcons received the most: $879,000. The services included a 2013 event during which a roaring crowd cheered as the Falcons welcomed 80 Guard members who unfurled an American flag across the Georgia Dome’s turf.
“Little did those fans — or millions of other Americans — know that the National Guard had actually paid the Atlanta Falcons for this display of patriotism,” the report said.
Besides the major sports franchises, the military paid NASCAR about $1.6 million. For that the U.S. Air Force received, among other things, personal appearances by driver Aric Almirola and retired driving legend Richard Petty.
In statements in the report, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Falcons owner Arthur Blank defend the voluntary support the league and its teams provide to the military.
President Barack Obama's spokesman, Josh Earnest, offered a mild defense Tuesday of the military using sporting events as a promotional stage.
"I'm not aware that the president has weighed in on this, and I will acknowledge that I'm not aware of the policies that govern those kinds of relationships," Earnest said. "I do know that the Department of Defense would likely say that these kinds of relationships enhance their recruiting efforts."
In a July letter to Flake, Brad Carson, acting undersecretary of defense, said the improvement in the economy had made recruiting more difficult and that marketing was needed to meet recruiting goals. "Sports events are an important component of this process," he wrote.
Flake asked in May for records of all marketing contracts since 2012 between military and sports franchises, after discovering one between the New Jersey Army National Guard and the New York Jets.
But the material he received from the Pentagon was incomplete and in some cases misleading, the report said. Military officials turned over only about two-thirds of the 122 contracts identified by Senate investigators.
In correspondence included in the report, Defense Department officials said they were continuing to gather information on the issue.
In the meantime, both the National Guard and the Defense Department have banned some practices, such as paying for player appearances and ceremonies such as enlistments.
The September memo from the Pentagon said the military branches should “neither fund nor approve any sports marketing or sports related contract in which the terms of the contract require the service to pay … to honor members of the armed services.”
In addition, the military authorization bill recently passed by Congress, but vetoed by President Obama, included a provision banning the military from entering into any agreements in which it pays for events honoring members of the military.
The Flake-McCain report states the military has never been able to show the marketing contracts help with recruiting.
In the report, the senators said they “hope that both DOD and the professional sports teams will refrain from signing marketing and advertising contracts that could suggest even the appearance of impropriety.”
“Americans deserve the ability to assume that tributes for our men and women in military uniform are genuine displays of national pride, which any are, rather than taxpayer-funded DOD marketing gimmicks,” the report concludes.
Teams receiving the most from defense marketing contracts:
1. Atlanta Falcons, $879,000
2. New England Patriots, $700,000
3. Buffalo Bills, $650,000
4. Minnesota Wild, $570,000
5. Baltimore Ravens, $534,500
6. New Orleans Saints, $472,875
7. San Diego Chargers, $453,500
8. Seattle Seahawks, $453,500
9. Atlanta Braves, $450,000
10. Indianapolis Colts $420,000
Source: Tackling Paid Patriotism, Report by Sens. Jeff Flake and John McCain
Isn't this the same story that broke back in May?
sounds like corporate welfare wrapped in a charity blanket and should be stopped. teams should donate the cash they received to wounded warriors or other worthy causes.
During my time spent working in Sports Marketing, I never once thought of approaching the Defense Department. I would certainly work up some proposals now if they're shelling out that kind of money!
I like vanilla ice cream with my apple pie! 
