One of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ biggest corporate sponsors issued a statement Monday after some players kneeled Sunday during the national anthem before the Jaguars game in London, while several others did not respond to requests for comment.
Daily’s CEO Aubrey Edge said in a statement the company stands behind the military.
Through a spokeswoman, Edge said that “words matter” and that Daily’s “holds dear the words to this great country’s Pledge of Allegiance.
“We believe that freedom of expression is a fundamental right of all Americans; yet we believe this right should be exercised with deference to our nation’s flag, the greatest symbol of our hard-fought and deeply treasured rights and privileges as American citizens,” his statement reads.
Edge said that it isn’t a perfect society and that education changes lives and creates opportunity.
“We stand behind our military and the great sacrifices they and their families have made. Our sponsorship of the Jaguars is based on the values we share, the best of what sports have to offer – values of fairness, teambuilding, respect and discipline. Those values are greater than any one person or entity,” his statement said.
Daily’s is the naming rights sponsor of the new amphitheater attached to EverBank Field and of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Edge is president of Daily’s parent company First Coast Energy L.L.P., which operates Shell gas stations.
EverBank Financial Corp., which has naming rights to the city-owned home stadium for the Jaguars, as well as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Inc., Publix Super Markets Inc. and US Assure Inc., which sponsors the Jaguars’ two club sections, did not return calls or emails requesting comment as of late Monday afternoon.
On Sunday, the Jaguars participated in a leaguewide demonstration against recent comments by President Donald Trump in Huntsville, Alabama, calling on NFL owners to fire or suspend players who kneel in protest during the national anthem.
More than a dozen Jaguars players kneeled during the “The Star-Spangled Banner,” while the remaining players, coaches, medical staff and Jaguars owner Shad Khan locked arms and stood before the Jaguars played the Baltimore Ravens at Wembley Stadium in London.