NFL owners Tapper, Blank and Lurie bar Macklemore from their stadiums
Panthers, Falcons and Eagles ownership block the rapper from performing at publicly funded venues, triggering a free-speech backlash online.
What to know
- Three NFL stadium owners — Tapper, Blank and Lurie — barred Macklemore from performing at venues that receive state funding.
- The dispute centers on whether the First Amendment or public funding gives the public a say in who performs at leased/publicly financed stadiums.
- Some commenters tie the ban to owners' pro-Israel stances and Macklemore's past pro-Palestinian statements, including his 2024 performance of "From the River to the Sea."
- An attendee at a related concert (reported as an Ed Sheeran show) said Macklemore addressed the cancellation emotionally onstage before a crowd of about 50,000.
The dispute Whether the First Amendment or public funding actually restrains stadium owners from barring a performer, versus the venues being treated as private property regardless of subsidy. · positions read across 95 posts and comments
Banning a performer from a state-funded stadium is a free-speech/public-funding issue and owners shouldn't have this unilateral power.
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“Government funded venues censoring speech to protect a genocidal regime sounds like a First Amendment violation.”
@amardguru.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
The ban reflects the owners' support for Israel and is complicity in violence against Palestinians.
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“All of them are staunch Jews and big time Funders of Netanyahu's Genocide Regime. There is nothing more to understand. They are complicit in killing 20K Palestinian Children and have blood on their hands.”
@ex-pat.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
The First Amendment doesn't actually apply here because stadiums remain private venues even when publicly funded or leased.
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“Technically no. The Constitution does not extend to funds for a private venue. Funding or not. You need to get the state or federal funding to be removed.”
@brianwhiting.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
The ban was the right call because of Macklemore's own past statements or imagery.
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“Hate and lies have no place in sports. It was a good decision.”
@reginadee2025.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
Macklemore Musician banned from the stadiumsDavid Tapper Panthers owner
Arthur Blank Falcons owner
Jeffrey Lurie Eagles owner
Robert Kraft Patriots owner
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments
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Commenters split over whether the First Amendment actually applies
A counter-argument emerged in the same thread noting that stadiums are private venues even when publicly funded or leased, so constitutional free-speech protections may not apply to the ban.
“Technically no. The Constitution does not extend to funds for a private venue. Funding or not. You need to get the state or federal funding to be removed.”
— @brianwhiting.bsky.social -
hey @democrats.org , can government stop subsidizing the rich welfare queens?
2 more of the top 3 · 88 posts in this stretch
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All of them are staunch Jews and big time Funders of Netanyahu's Genocide Regime. There is nothing more to understand. They are complicit in killing 20K Palestinian Children and have blood on their hands. Karma is about to pay these collaborators a visit in PR.
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Use of public funds means the Constitution applies… I hope someone takes them on in court!!!
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Online backlash accuses owners of censoring speech at public venues
Commenters argued that stadiums receiving state funding should not be able to restrict who performs, framing the ban as a First Amendment or public-funding issue.
“Government funded venues censoring speech to protect a genocidal regime sounds like a First Amendment violation.”
— @amardguru.bsky.social -
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Panthers owner Tapper, Falcons owner Blank, and Eagles owner Lurie banned Macklemore from the stadiums. All of these stadiums receive state funding. What gives these owners the right to say who can and cannot play at the stadium. Kraft owns the Patriots stadium. l.
2 more of the top 3 · 7 posts in this stretch
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Government funded venues censoring speech to protect a genocidal regime sounds like a First Amendment violation.
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This is Robert Kraft, pictured here with a child rapist and a mass murderer. When Kraft needed a lawyer for the solicitation charge in Fla. Epstein recommended one. When Epstein gave that lawyer a heads up, the lawyer's comment was maybe the Kraft charge will ease some of the pressure on you. 1/2
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background
Macklemore breaks down onstage after being pulled from Sheeran show — An attendee described Macklemore appearing at what was reported as an Ed Sheeran concert, crying near the end of the three-hour show over the cancellation of his appearance before roughly 50,000 fans.
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background
Tapper, Blank and Lurie ban Macklemore from their stadiums — The owners of the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles barred Macklemore from performing at their respective stadiums, all of which receive state funding.
What people are saying 17 voices from 1 site · best of 95 · verbatim
- Does the First Amendment or public-funding status legally constrain what stadium owners can do at leased venues?
- What specifically prompted the ban — a particular statement, lyric, or past performance by Macklemore?
- Was Macklemore actually removed from an Ed Sheeran concert, and under what circumstances?
- Sep 20
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And I believe Kraft’s wife is on the board of the Kennedy Center and is one of those maga scumbags desperately trying to have the building demolished on the orders of Dear Leader. Cvnts the lot of them.
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After the endless drivel about Hasan Piker.. I think it’s time we ask: Is Ed Sheeran the company he keeps?
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This is a picture of Macklemore dressed in an anti-Semitic caricature of a Jewish man. If he was in blackface or some other racist ‘costume’, most would be singing a different tune. In 2024 he sang ’from the river to the sea’ - this means the extermination of all Jewish people.
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I just returned from the concert. It was magical. no one wanted politics, just music. Near the end of the 3-hour concert, he cried over his agony about cancelling, and thanked the fans, then cried. 50,000 cheered him on. I'm not even a Sheeran fan, and I was moved.
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I'm not downloading a fucking app to read your news.
- Sep 19
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Why do billionaire sports owners get taxpayer money? It’s a business and if your business can’t make money on its own merits then that’s the owners fault. Subsidies of any kind to these big corporations are just outrageous. Families living under bridges and children starving. Outrageous!
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Spot on about stadiums receiving public funding! Cities and counties should cancel it. Owners can hire all their own security and tax breaks. Eff em.
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Its like we know who all the villains are and nothing happens
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This is on the people of those States to demand the banks call in their loans for the stadiums and that any new ones will NEVER be financed by the public.
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How many of these Billionaires - also visited Epstein Island.
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#Kraft is #EpsteinClass - he's on the #EpsteinList. Huge Network behind him.
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Whatever happened to freedom of speech? Oh that’s right, Trump took it away, illegally, but no one had the guts to stop him.
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The main point is and should be...stop Israel's genocide! #FreePalestine
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A stadium is not a government building. The first amendment does not apply. Remember Colin K?
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Billionaires stifling free speech aren't "random other people."
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It was definitely Ed. He had the power to tell Kraft and his billionaire buddies to f*ck off, but he didn't. He's spineless. I hope it ruins his career. Meanwhile, Macklemore is soaring on Spotify.
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Might be time to revisit the tax status of those stadia? Asking for local and states who may need a little extra for their public services that support those places …