A Democratic Senate candidate's political advertisement criticizing the Boston Red Sox ownership was pulled from the air by the team's television network during a game last week. Graham Platner, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Susan Collins of Maine, aired a 15-second ad on May 22 that accused the Red Sox owners of allowing private equity firms to destroy the team.
In the ad, Platner said, "Private equity has destroyed our favorite baseball team. Stripping them for parts," and promised to "reverse the private equity curse." He concluded with, "I'm Graham Platner, and I approve this message because I miss Mookie Betts," referencing the outfielder traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.
However, the New England Sports Network (NESN), which is partly owned by the Red Sox, pulled the ad midway through the game. Platner announced this in a post on X on Saturday. The Independent has reached out to Platner's campaign and NESN for comment.
NESN stated that the ad was removed "because the creative included unauthorized use of third-party intellectual property and did not comply with NESN's advertising standards," according to a statement obtained by the New York Times. It remains unclear which specific elements of the ad violated intellectual property rules.
Platner's ad referenced a 2021 Axios article reporting that the Red Sox majority owner sold about 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 in what is expected to be a highly competitive midterm election. Collins, 73, is a Republican and one of the longest-serving members of Congress, first elected in 1997.
Platner's campaign has gained national attention for its progressive Democratic platform and his unconventional style. He is expected to be the Democratic nominee after Governor Janet Mills ended her campaign for the seat. However, Platner has also faced controversy over old social media posts with inflammatory remarks about police and a now-covered chest tattoo of a symbol associated with Nazism, which he said he was unaware of at the time. He has since apologized for the posts.
