Graham Platner, Maine’s likely Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, just got taken out of the ol’ ballgame by the Boston Red Sox.
A Platner campaign ad critical of the slumping baseball team ran at least once and then was yanked off the New England Sports Network during the game on Saturday.
Platner pointed out the removal ― and the change in momentum that followed for the Sox.
“Yesterday we started running this ad during the Red Sox game,” Platner wrote on X. “Midway through the game the ad was taken down by the station (which is owned by the Red Sox ownership). And then the Sox blew a 4-0 lead.”
NESN confirmed it pulled the commercial to The New York Times.
“NESN removes advertisements when credible concerns arise regarding the use of intellectual property,” the statement said. “The advertisement in question was removed because the creative included unauthorized use of third-party intellectual property and did not comply with NESN’s advertising standards.”
The network did not elaborate on what the issue was to the Times. But perhaps the dissing of the Sox and their overlords combined with using a font and colors similar to the team’s might have combined to stoke their ire.
Platner, a military vet and oysterman who appeared with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on his Fight the Oligarchy tour in Portland, Maine, over the weekend, swung away in the 15-second spot.
The Red Sox’s principal owner is John W. Henry, who runs a conglomerate called Fenway Sports Group that also has ownership stakes in the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team and Liverpool soccer club.
In 2021, a private equity firm called RedBird Capital Partners bought 11% of the shares in FSG.
“Private equity has destroyed our favorite baseball team, stripping them for parts,” Platner declares in the spot. “Private equity is buying up our homes, our sports, and our lives. I will reverse the private equity curse. I’m Graham Platner and I approved this message because I miss Mookie Betts.”
The Red Sox, who currently languish in last place in the American League East, traded Betts to the Dodgers in 2020 and have not won a playoff series since. The team won the World Series with AL MVP Betts in 2018.
The campaign team of Platner’s Republican opponent, GOP incumbent Susan Collins, accused Platner of trying to “change the subject” from his “judgment and character” in a statement reported by the Times.
HuffPost has reached out to Platner, FSG and RedBird for comment.