The Atlanta Falcons posted a rendering of their throwback logo on social media Wednesday, and the post quickly drew an online backlash, with some users comparing its imagery to symbols used in Nazi Germany. The post showed the franchise's black-and-white bird logo, used from the 1960s into the early 2000s, set against vertical stripes in red, black and gold.
The colors reference the team's 1966 uniform, which featured a red helmet, the black Falcons logo, and black, white and gold striping on the pants. The team's post remains online, but the Falcons changed their profile photos on X and Instagram to show only the red retro helmet with the black throwback logo and no vertical stripes.
The Falcons have worn the retro logo for games every year since 2009, except for several seasons when the NFL barred teams from using alternative helmet colors. Atlanta will wear the logo Sunday when it hosts the San Francisco 49ers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The controversy appears centered on how the stripes were presented behind the logo in that specific post. In the actual helmet design, the stripes will run down the middle of the red helmet rather than behind the logo as the graphic showed.
The Falcons declined to comment, and an NFL spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. Owner Arthur Blank, who is Jewish, has donated millions to Holocaust remembrance organizations through the Molly Blank Fund, named after his mother. In 2023, Blank donated $1.5 million to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Source: ESPN NFL · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing