NJ political boss booted from Eagles game after displaying Israeli flag threatens lawsuit
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The New Jersey Democratic power broker who was kicked out of a Philadelphia Eagles game after displaying a US-Israeli flag says he is considering legal action against the team.
Party leader George Norcross — a 67-year-old insurance executive and former co-owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer — was captured on video being accosted by security officers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, where he was watching the Eagles take on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Norcross, who hung the American-Israeli colors from his luxury suite, was led away after a skirmish with the officers.
In a statement, he said he was “forcibly removed and assaulted by the non-police security staff of Lincoln Financial Field and the Eagles/NFL for refusing to remove a 3′ x5′ American and Israeli flag I’d hung off the box I was sitting in,” CBS News reported.
Norcross said he felt he was making “an important statement” as a “strong supporter of Israel” by displaying the flag to show solidarity with the country, “which was viciously attacked by the terrorist group Hamas less than a month ago.
“As a longtime passionate fan and season ticket holder, I have watched the Eagles/NFL make clear and strong statements on numerous important civil justice issues and ethnic and world conflicts, including supporting the people of Ukraine,” Norcross wrote.
“It remains unclear why the Eagles/NFL believe that the US-Israeli flag should be deemed ‘obscene or indecent’ or otherwise inappropriate — which is what I was cited for — and should therefore be ripped down despite both issuing public statements strongly supporting Israel following the October 7th attacks,” he continued.
Norcross said he is considering suing the Eagles, the NFL, and the security company.
“I urge other supporters of Israel to make their feelings known to the team and the NFL just as they have to universities like Penn and Harvard,” he wrote.
“On October 7th, Hamas murdered innocent Israeli civilians, raped woman [sic] and butchered children, and continues to hold hostages. I believe Israel has the right to defend itself, just as the United States did following the September 11th attacks and I will remain a proud and vocal defender of its right to do so,” he added.
The Eagles also released a statement about the incident.
“Mr. Norcross’ removal from the stadium had nothing to do with the content of his sign,” the team said.
“Our stadium policies expressly prohibit signage containing any kind of non-game messaging to be hung from a stadium suite. Stadium staff repeatedly asked Mr. Norcross to remove the sign he hung outside of the suite,” it said.
“Instead of complying with the request, Mr. Norcross became physically and verbally abusive. Mr. Norcross was ejected from the stadium only after his abuse toward numerous stadium staff members continued,” the Eagles said.
The team said Norcross was escorted out “just as anyone else would be after engaging in abusive behavior in violation of stadium policy.”
It added, “The Philadelphia Eagles reaffirm our stance again condemning the horrific and brutal Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7th.”
A stadium official has told The Post that flags have been prohibited at the stadium under a “longstanding policy.”
Lincoln Financial Field’s policy on signs and banners says people may be removed for displaying anything that is “potentially offensive.
“Signs, banners or similar items that are obscene or indecent, not event-related, potentially offensive to other patrons, capable of blocking views of other fans or otherwise deemed dangerous or inappropriate by the Eagles are prohibited,” it says.
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