I honestly don’t know what’s going on with the NFL these days, but there must be something in the air. This is a story which actually cropped up earlier in the week, but we missed it during the holiday break. It’s being reported at Guns & Ammo that Daniel Defense submitted an advertisement to be run during this year’s Super Bowl, but it was rejected out of hand (twice) by the league for being in violation of their rules regarding content which is deemed too offensive and on their prohibited advertising categories list. (H/T to Gateway Pundit)

Daniel Defense recently submitted a commercial to FOX to be played during the 2014 NFL Super Bowl XLVIII. Though the video doesn’t showcase one of the company’s popular DDM4 rifles, this paid advertisement spot was rejected by the NFL. The commercial, which focuses on themes of personal protection and fundamental rights, was originally created by Daniel Defense to run in any network TV station at any time. According to a statement from FOX to Daniel Defense, “Unfortunately, we cannot accept your commercial in football/Super Bowl spots due to the rules the NFL itself has set into place for your company’s category.”

I considered transcribing part of the advertisement for you here just to show you how “offensive” it is, but it’s really better if you just watch it yourself.

There isn’t a single gun shown or even mentioned during the course of the advertisement. (Though it’s certainly implied.) There is a logo which contains the outline of a gun at the closing, but as the article points out, Daniel Defense offered the NFL a second option where that logo would be replaced with a US flag and the phrase, “Shall not be infringed.” That offer was also rejected out of hand.

You can read the NFL’s prohibited advertising category rules here, and if you do you’ll see that it’s dubious at best as to whether either form of this advertisement violates them. It’s hard to say if this is something entirely new for the league or just a new, “play it safe” interpretation of existing rules as they come under the watchful eye of the Bubble Wrap Society Brigade more and more during the head injury debate. Either way, this move will surely do nothing to bolster the support of a lot of the NFL’s core fan base and should be a warning to everyone else. Even talking about your Second Amendment rights in an advertisement for a completely legitimate business is now apparently no longer clear and steady ground for free speech.