Fox News apologizes after Eagles' Zach Ertz blasts national anthem 'propaganda'

Tom Schad | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump rescinds Eagles' White House invite, puts NFL owners in tough spot SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Jarrett Bell on why Trump's decision to shut down the Philadelphia Eagles' planned White House visit shouldn't be a surprise and why it's a bad look for the NFL owners.

Hours after Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz and defensive lineman Chris Long criticized Fox News for showing footage of Eagles players praying before games — during a segment about protests during the national anthem — the network apologized for what it described as an "error."

Christopher Wallace, the executive producer of Fox News @ Night, apologized for using the footage in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports, explaining that it was "unrelated" to the matter of the segment.

"During our report about President Trump canceling the Philadelphia Eagles trip to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win, we showed unrelated footage of players kneeling in prayer," Wallace said in the statement. "To clarify, no members of the team knelt in protest during the national anthem throughout regular or post-season last year. We apologize for the error."

Anchor Shannon Bream also read an apology from the network on air Tuesday night.

The Fox News segment in question, which has since been deleted on social media, aired less than 12 hours after President Donald Trump announced that he was rescinding the Eagles' invitation to the White House. The president cited the team's desire to send "a smaller delegation" to the ceremony and framing it in the context of protests during the national anthem, which the president has made a major issue.

The depiction of praying players in the context of national-anthem protests quickly caught the attention of Ertz, who took to social media to blast the Fox News segment as "propaganda."

"This can't be serious," Ertz wrote on Twitter. "Praying before games with my teammates, well before the anthem, is being used for your propaganda?! Just sad, I feel like you guys should have to be better than this..."

Long added his own criticism about an hour later.

"Imagine wanting to please the boss so very badly that you run stills of guys knelt down PRAYING during pregame," Long wrote. "Not one Eagles player knelt for the anthem this yr. Keep carrying his water to sow division while misrepresenting Christian men. Aren't many of your viewers.. nevermind.

"You’re complicit in PLAYING America. This is just another day at the office for you, though. Most players (and there were many players, many players...) that wanted to opt out had decided long b4 the anthem rule came down. It wasn’t discussed once in our meetings about the visit."

Imagine wanting to please the boss so very badly that you run stills of guys knelt down PRAYING during pregame. Not one Eagles player knelt for the anthem this yr. Keep carrying his water to sow division while misrepresenting Christian men. Aren’t many of your viewers.. nevermind https://t.co/QdlOvL0btq — Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) June 5, 2018

MORE: Trump rips NFL's anthem policy in tweets: 'NFL, no escaping to Locker Rooms!'

MORE: Trump canceling Eagles' White House visit shows NFL failed on anthem policy

MORE: Ex-Eagles WR Torrey Smith: Trump's cancellation 'a cowardly act'

The network's apology didn't satisfy Long. In a tweet Tuesday afternoon, he described the Fox News segment as "intentional and strategic," and suggested that an on-air apology would be the "classy" move.

The Fox News segment drew headlines as the football world continued to digest Trump's decision to cancel the Eagles' visit. The NFL Players' Association, for example, chimed in on the decision for the first time, saying that it is "disappointed" in the decision.

"This decision by the White House has led to the cancellation of several player-led community service events for young people in the Washington, D.C. area," the NFLPA said in part of a statement. "NFL players love their country, support our troops, give back to their communities and strive to make America a better place."

Several current and former NFL players also shared their thoughts about Trump and the Eagles through social media:

Let me get this straight so YALL President saw that a few players from the Eagles wasn’t showing up tomorrow so he got sensitive and and cancelled the whole trip? 😂 Man get this bum out of here! Correct me if I’m wrong didn’t Eagles players stand for the anthem all year? 🤔 — Reggie Bush (@ReggieBush) June 5, 2018

Avoided the military draft 5 different times, publicly disrespected POW’s and Gold Star Families, openly supports racist people, calls black athletes who peacefully protest SOB’s, grabs women by the p$$$y, yet NFL Players are the ones who are not patriotic? WE ARE IN A CRISIS https://t.co/CVybXsruic — Reggie Bush (@ReggieBush) June 5, 2018

How you going to un invite people who didn’t want to go anyway!? 🤷🏾‍♂️ #Eagles #WhiteHouse https://t.co/lbtmeijkk4 — Emmanuel Acho (@thEMANacho) June 4, 2018

Damn. I woke up this morning feeling pure love for the @Eagles. And as a former New York Giant, that hated them completely, I don’t know how to handle it — OSI (@OsiUmenyiora) June 5, 2018

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.