If “GIF-maggeddon” was anything to learn from, you’d think twice before messing with the NFL’s legal team. Back in 2015, social media giants Deadspin and SBNation got a first-hand example of that when their X accounts were suspended, courtesy of a game footage used without a license. Yet, fast forward to now, and a quiet change in stance reared its head when the White House resorted to the same tactic. The irony, of course, was not lost on fans.

On March 6, the White House posted a video with the caption, “Touchdown.” The video featured an NFL highlight and the military strikes carried out by the US Army in Iran. Coupled with AC/DC’s popular track “Thunderstruck” playing in the background, the public backlash was swift and intense.

And it reached a fever pitch when an individual, Ryan Patrick, launched a petition titled ‘MoveOn’, addressing NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell with a clear message: “NFL: No More War Propaganda!”

“The NFL is well known for aggressively protecting its intellectual property and game footage from unauthorized use,” Patrick wrote. “Football is a sport—not a tool for glorifying war and death. The NFL needs to demand that the White House take down this video and not use any of its footage for war propaganda.” At the time of writing, over 16,000 people have already signed.

Now the league has taken action for things way smaller than this. In 2025, the league filed complaints to remove the clips (an apparent blown call) from the Chiefs’ 20-17 loss to the Eagles. So naturally, when the White House inappropriately used an NFL highlight, millions of league fans demanded action. But it’s been days now, and the silence is deafening.

At the moment, there’s no answer. This week, Mike Florio from Football Talk reportedly contacted the league, but failed to get any replies.

“On Tuesday, we asked the league for comment as to the use of NFL-copyrighted footage for the clip,” Florio revealed. “We received no response.”

The same silence followed when Washington Post reporter Robert Klemko also contacted the league, adding to the growing frustration. However the situat

Adding more to it, the same source, while talking to Rebecca Tushnet, a First Amendment professor at Harvard Law School, revealed,

“Once you’re making an argument, no matter how offensive an argument it is, courts are much more willing to find fair use,” Rebecca claims that removing the video may not be as easy as one assumes. “The argument here seems to be: Sports and killing people are fun things that Americans are good at. That is, although repulsive, an argument.”

And not just the fans, even the players who saw the video were appalled by it. It made them sick, they said!

Players condemn and demand accountability 

For the players who were featured in those clips, the unauthorized use of their likeness to glorify things they didn’t subscribe to was more than a legal issue; it was a moral one. Kenny Belly, whose 2012 Big Ten title game unknowingly became a part of the video, gave an exclusive statement to The Washington Post.

“For that play to be associated with bombing human beings makes me sick,” Bell told The Washington Post. “I don’t want anything to do with images like that.” He further added, “I don’t think I’m even allowed to use that clip, because I don’t own it,” and requested the NFL to take necessary action.

“So I would like the NFL, the networks, to treat the White House like they’d treat me. To re-instill some faith in these institutions, you have to start holding our leaders accountable.”

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Many of the clips used in the video footage feature NFL stars like Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Kam Chancellor. Ed Reed also posted a message on X, confirming, “I do not approve this message.”

In one of the clips from the same footage, former Tampa Bay linebacker Mason Foster crashes into former New England receiver Chad Ochocinco. Condemning the video, the former NFL player said,

“I’m at a loss for words.” The matter of fact is that Mason isn’t even on social media and was shocked when someone shared the clip with him. “It’s a strange feeling, seeing those clips like that. I don’t think anything going on in the world today is as simple as a great football play or a hit. I’m still wrapping my head around it.”

Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark from the Steel City did not hold back. He called the clip “highly disgusting.”

On one of the episodes of “Pivot” podcast last week, Clark said, “There are families here in our country whose loved ones have decided to give their life to fight for our rights and our freedoms, who don’t see war as a sport. War doesn’t deserve a highlight film for ‘Tropic Thunder’ to be a part of it. War is not a comedy.”

He also stressed that real conflict should never be turned into entertainment, adding, “And for these people to be risking their lives, not for our safety as much as for someone else’s agenda, for our regime to be as unserious, as unprofessional, as laughable, and as illegitimate as our leadership is right now, is embarrassing.”

Still, even with a little more than 16,000 signatures and growing criticism, the league has yet to share a response, leaving fans waiting for action.