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By Michael Gallagher
Sports Content Coordinator
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The Atlanta Falcons are finding out the hard way sometimes there’s nothing you can do but take it on the chin and move on.
That’s the lesson the team is learning after making an ill-fated decision to roll with a throwback logo that fans on social media quickly noted resembled branding similar to that of the Imperial Eagle logo of Nazi Germany.
The Falcons official X account posted a photo of an all-black Falcon with a red, gold, tan, and black striped background on Wednesday with the caption “New PFP 👀.”
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The comment section was pretty ruthless.
“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.
The blowback was so fierce among fans that by Friday morning the team changed its avatar on X to a different photo, though the initial X post of the throwback logo is still live on the team’s feed.
While there do seem to be similarities between the two images, some fans also pointed out that they didn’t get the comparison and stated some users were blowing the situation 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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