The Atlanta Falcons found themselves in the middle of an unexpected social media mess after unveiling a throwback logo that many fans immediately said looked too close to the Imperial Eagle branding used by Nazi Germany.
On Wednesday, the team’s official X account posted an image of an all-black falcon set against a red, gold, tan, and black striped background, along with the caption “New PFP 👀.”
The reaction came fast, and it was ugly in the replies.
“I must say, I was not expecting to wake up this morning to see that the Atlanta Falcons are preparing to invade Poland,” one fan wrote.
“I give this a nein/10,” another quipped.
“Just in time for the NFL ’s invasion of Paris. 👀,” one user replied.
“Are you guys going to start writing "Start Racism" in the end zones?” asked another user.
“Head coach Frank Reich incoming,” another fan remarked.
By Friday morning, the Falcons had already swapped their X avatar for a different image, though the original post featuring the throwback logo was still up on the team’s feed.
Not everyone saw the same thing, though. Some fans pushed back against the uproar and said the comparison was being blown out of proportion.
“Far be it from me to ever defend the Atlanta Falcons. Having said that I do not see what people are apparently seeing in this 1966 drawing of a bird,” one user replied.
“Falcons have had this logo for decades wtf are we doing,” asked another.
“There is literally nothing about this that references Nazism. Red, white and black?
The falcon logo they've used for years? A couple of vertical stripes?
Show me the Nazi imagery this mimics. The reaction to this is like the Mandela Effect plus the blue or gold dress,” one fan argued.
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