Longtime Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank is Jewish, but that fact did not stop NFL fans on social media from comparing a new logo posted on the team’s official accounts this week to symbols from Nazi Germany.
In a post released Wednesday on the Atlanta Falcons’ social media accounts, the team showed off a photo of its throwback bird logo on top of a red background with gold, white, and black stripes in the middle.
The team used the photo as a new profile picture on its social media accounts as an homage to the red helmets the team will be wearing with its throwback black jerseys in a matchup against the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday.
While the post, which had generated over 40 million views on Twitter (X) by Friday, initially seemed harmless, social media users then began making edited photos that featured the image the Falcons created superimposed on German soldiers and former dictator Adolf Hitler, who led the Nazi party from 1933 until his suicide in 1945 following a defeat in World War II.
Nazi flags from that era featured the color red and used symbols like a swastika and an eagle (not a Falcon), although that did not stop the comparisons to the Falcons image circulating online.
Under Hitler, Nazi Germany committed large-scale atrocities that resulted in approximately 11 million deaths, including six million European Jews in targeted genocides during the Holocaust.
Many online made comments about the image sent out by the Falcons as it went viral for the wrong reasons.
“Lost to the [Chicago] Bears once and became Nazis,” X user @diegovane_ replied to the tweet featuring the image of the Falcons logo.
“Falcons look like they’re about to invade Poland,” X user @lateforapex wrote in another viral tweet, referencing the 1939 decision by Nazi Germany to invade Poland and spark the start of World War II.
Others defended the Falcons as they received backlash for posting the image.
“To the vastly uneducated, this bird was the Falcons logo from 1966 to 2002,” X user @chxnluh wrote. “The red and black honor Georgia and the gold honors Georgia Tech. We wear these every year as throwbacks. This is nothing new.”
Blank has owned the Falcons for 24 years, and the generous philanthropist has spoken about his pride in his Jewish heritage in the past.
“I’ve thought about Jewish owners of teams,” Blank told Jewish outlet the Forward in 2017. “It’s about success in America. And I think people of our faith seem to do well in things that are connected to other people. This is not a solo effort. I have 31 other partners the day after we play a game. We share revenues. Owners enjoy working together, and that’s part of the history of our faith — working together as a group.”
While the profile picture change that turned into a social media brouhaha still remains on the Falcons team accounts, by early Friday the Falcons had changed their social media profile picture to an image that featured a side view of the team’s throwback helmet on top of a solid red background.
The Falcons (2-4) will host the 49ers (6-0) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. Atlanta is on a two-game losing streak after it initially won two in a row following the return of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. from injury.
