Moved by Patriotic Professional Sporting Events? Your Tax Dollars Funded Them.

The Pentagon and professional sports teams seem to have teamed up.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has been exposed for paying pro teams to honor American soldiers at sporting events, a government oversight report finds.

U.S. Senators Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and John McCain, R-Ariz., authored the report.

“Dear Taxpayer,” Flake and McCain write. “In 2013, a roaring crowd cheered as the Atlanta Falcons welcomed 80 National Guard members who unfurled an American flag across the Georgia Dome’s turf. Little did those fans—or millions of other Americans—know that the National Guard had actually paid the Atlanta Falcons for this display of patriotism as part of a $315,000 marketing contract.”

The two senators go on to reveal that the DOD has spent $10.4 million on sports marketing and advertising contracts since the fiscal year 2012.

They say that the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer have all partaken in these contracts. Seventy-two of 122 contracts between the DOD and sports leagues were exposed to have contained some form of what has been termed “paid patriotism,” meaning taxpayers, and not teams, foot the bill for these appearances.

Six point eight million dollars’ worth of the DOD’s sports marketing contracts were found to contain some form of paid patriotism.

“By paying for such heartwarming displays like recognition of wounded warriors, surprise homecomings, and on-field enlistment ceremonies, these displays lost their luster,” Flake’s and McCain’s letter to the taxpayer goes on to say. “Unsuspecting audience members became the subjects of paid-marketing campaigns rather than simply bearing witness to teams’ authentic, voluntary shows of support for the brave men and women who wear our nation’s uniform.”

At least 50 teams were found to have been paid by the DOD for patriotic gestures.

“DOD has indicated the purpose of these contracts is to support recruiting,” reads the joint oversight report.

Paid acts of patriotism have included on-field color guard (flag spinning), performances of the national anthem, and ceremonial first pitches.

Flake and McCain claim that this casts an “unfortunate shadow over the genuine patriotic partnerships” like the National Football League’s Salute to the Service campaign.

The report also notes that some of the marketing funds appear to be legitimate, such as those used for recruiter’s booth space at games.

While the senators support the recruitment intent, they “find the tactics used by the military services questionable and the benefit to taxpayers undefined.”

“If the most compelling message about military service we can deliver to prospective recruits and influencers is the promise of game tickets, gifts, and player appearances, we need to rethink our approach to how we are inspiring qualified men and women to military service,” states the report, which took months of investigative work to put together.

According to ABC15 Arizona, Flake does not blame pro sports teams for their part in the controversy.

“The blame is with the DOD, not the teams,” Flake told ABC15. “These teams do a lot for the veterans, do a lot for the troops. The problem is when you see items like this, it kind of just cheapens the lot.”

“Paid patriotism” was first criticized earlier this year, when Fox News reported that a dozen NFL teams had been paid by the DOD to honor soldiers.

“It is incredible that, during a time of budget constraints and limited resources, the DOD is paying professional sports teams to ‘support the troops,’” says John Cooper, spokesperson for Concerned Veterans for America. “Instead of devoting resources to ensuring our warfighters have the tools they need to keep the United States safe, the DOD has seen fit to use taxpayers’ dollars to support the PR efforts of these organizations.”

“Such waste is unacceptable and highlights the need for spending reform at the department,” Cooper told the The Daily Signal.

While the DOD has banned paid patriotism, and the NFL has issued a ban on all clubs accepting payments for patriotic gestures, Flake and McCain say there is still more work to be done.

The senators are pushing for an amendment to next year’s defense authorization bill that would halt the practice. They have also encouraged sports teams to donate the questionable taxpayer dollars received to organizations that support of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their families.

“Fans should have confidence that their hometown heroes are being honored because of their honorable military service, not as a marketing ploy,” McCain said in a press release.