The few pro football leagues that try to compete with the mighty NFL have to fight for every bit of media attention they can get. With the NFL embroiled in controversy over players kneeling in protest against racial injustice during the national anthem, the all-women gridiron league formerly known as the Lingerie League is playing the flag-waving patriotism card for all its worth.
The newly rechristened Legends Football League — or LFL — has declared all its players will stand for the American flag and playing of the national anthem.
"The LFL has and will always will be in full recognition of our athlete's First Amendment right to protest, however from the league's standpoint, our National Anthem and Flag are too sacred to the fabric of our country, not to celebrate," said the league on its Facebook page.
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With the "Star-Spangled Banner" playing in the background, the LFL also released a video showing its players standing for the anthem with their hands over their hearts.
The league teased the video as a contrast to protesting NFL players kneeling or sitting during Sunday's games.
"It symbolizes all the blood, sweat, and tears that have been shed so that we as Americans can raise our flag across our nation," the narrator says. "The LFL salutes all those who make this the greatest country in the world. And WE stand in salute of our flag."
It's a marketing move that's the equivalent of movie channels trying to counter-program the Super Bowl for TV viewers who don't want to watch sports.
The LFL's marketing stunt is already drawing plaudits from conservative media outlets.
"The NFL better get its players in line, because the LFL just became the most patriotic league in the game," said the conservative Daily Caller.