Falcons’ throwback profile image draws Nazi imagery comparisons

The Atlanta Falcons’ throwback profile image has drawn a wave of criticism and jokes from social media users who say its red, white and black design resembles imagery associated with Nazi Germany.

The image places the team’s falcon symbol from the 1960s and 1970s over stripes in those three colors. The Falcons posted it to their Instagram and X accounts ahead of Sunday’s home game against the San Francisco 49ers, when Atlanta is set to wear throwback uniforms. On X, the team labeled the image “New PFP,” shorthand for “new profile picture.”

NBC News said the image appeared on the team’s accounts Wednesday, while The Guardian described the X post as having been published early Thursday. According to The Guardian, the post had attracted about 26 million views by Thursday as users compared the design to Nazi iconography and filled the replies with World War II references.

“I must say, I was not expecting to wake up this morning to see that the Atlanta Falcons are preparing to invade Poland,” one user wrote. Another combined a reference to the war with Atlanta’s 2017 Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots: “Falcons were up 28-3 at Dunkirk.” Other commenters called the team the “Bird Reich” or rated the image “a nein/10,” The Guardian reported.

The comparisons centered on the image’s arrangement of red, white and black stripes around the older falcon symbol. The Guardian described it as a throwback design for the run-up to the 49ers game; NBC News said it appeared to be an effort to honor the expansion-era 1966 Falcons.

A Falcons representative told NBC News late Thursday that the team does not have a “new logo” and declined further comment. The Guardian reported earlier that the team had not immediately commented on the design.

Sports logo historian Chris Creamer told NBC News he did not believe the Falcons intended any association with Nazi imagery. “Absolutely there was no ill intent, and I can’t imagine in a million years the Atlanta Falcons would do something like” seek such an alignment, he said.

Creamer said sports teams commonly change their social media profile images to match the uniforms they plan to wear. “It’s throwback weekend for the team, and the social media team just wanted to dress up like the players were going to,” he said.

He said he might not have spotted the resemblance before posting the image himself, but questioned why it remained online after the replies mounted. “At that point, they could have taken it down and tried a different one,” Creamer said. “At this point, it just sort of seems kind of stubborn to keep it up.”