PETA says that the ad they created in hopes of running during Super Bowl LIV won't run during this Sunday's matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. The ad has still managed to generate quite a bit of buzz online.
In a minute-long commercial, PETA animated a series of animals (including some that don't have knees), taking a knee while the National Anthem plays in the background:
The animal rights organization says in the tweet releasing the video that the NFL "pressured" FOX, who will broadcast the game, not to air the commercial.
The commercial, of course, was inspired by the protest that former San Francisco 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick did during the 2016 NFL season, when he kneeled during the Star Spangled Banner to protest racial inequality in the United States.
Kaepernick hasn't played in the league since 2016, with many attributing his protest as the reason that the quarterback that led the 49ers to an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII hasn't been signed or even worked out by any teams since.
Now 32, Kaepernick reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount with the NFL in February of 2019 after suing the league for collusion. Rather than attend the workout that the NFL attempted to set up for him - one that wouldn't have been open to the media and would have forced him to sign a liability waiver - Kaepernick did throw at Drew High School in Georgia in November of 2019. There's been no indication that his workout led to any interest in signing him.
PETA says that they invoked the gesture associated with Kaepernick to fight against all types of discrimination, including speciesism:
"Positively acknowledged by Kaepernick himself, this project pays homage to all movements that remind us to open our hearts and minds and reject all forms of injustice, including sexism, ableism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and speciesism."
What is speciesism? In their statement on the ad's status PETA, says that speciesism is "a supremacist worldview," adding that such an outlook on the world "allows humans to disrespect other living, feeling beings and to treat their interests as unimportant."
The NFL and FOX are yet to discuss why the ad will not run during the 54th Super Bowl.
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