A Democratic Senate candidate seemingly provoked the owners of the Boston Red Sox by airing a critical political advertisement during a baseball game this past week – which was taken off the air midway through the game.
Graham Platner, the Democrat hoping to replace Maine Senator Susan Collins, aired a somewhat trolling ad on May 22, accusing the Red Sox owners of destroying the team by allowing private equity firms to own portions of the team.
“Private equity has destroyed our favorite baseball team. Stripping them for parts,” Platner said in the 15-second ad, while promising to “reverse the private equity curse.”
“I’m Graham Platner, and I approve this message because I miss Mookie Betts,” he added, referring to the outfielder traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.
But midway through the game, the New England Sports Network, which is also partly owned by the Red Sox, pulled the ad, Platner said in an X post Saturday.
open image in galleryThe Independent has asked Platner’s campaign and the New England Sports Network for comment.
The network said it removed the ad “because the creative included unauthorized use of third-party intellectual property and did not comply with NESN’s advertising standards,” in a statement obtained by the New York Times.
It is unclear what creative aspects of the ad may have violated third-party intellectual property use.
Platner’s ad was specifically referencing a 2021 Axios article that reported the Red Sox majority owner sold roughly 11 percent of his stake in Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of the Red Sox, to a New York-based private equity firm.
Platner, a 41-year-old Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer, is running to replace Collins, 73, in the upcoming midterm elections in what is expected to be one of the most-watched races.
open image in galleryCollins is a Republican and one of the longest-serving members of Congress, having first been elected in 1997.
Platner’s campaign quickly gained national attention over the last few months for its progressive Democratic platform, combined with his rough-around-the-edges approach. He’s expected to be the Democratic nominee after Governor Janet Mills, who was also vying for the seat, ended her campaign.
But he has also sparked controversy with old social media posts featuring inflammatory remarks about police and a now-covered-up chest tattoo of a symbol associated with Nazism. Platner has said he was unaware of the symbol’s association. He has also apologized for the social media posts.