'Draw the line': NFL veterans rage against Trump using their image to sell his war

Feb 11, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks players react during the Super Bowl LX trophy celebration at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

President Donald Trump’s administration has angered former college and pro football players by conflating their hard hits on the gridiron with military strikes in Iran.

The Washington Post spoke to several players featured in a White House created clip that began circulating last week on X. They expressed disgust that their athletic achievements were used to illustrate bombing human beings.

The Trump administration has a long history of using clips and songs to illustrate its points, often despite the objections of the people who created or are depicted in them.

The WaPo cited a recent montage using war movie clips with bits from Ben Stiller's film, “Tropic Thunder,” with Stiller responding that he had “no interest in being part of your propaganda machine.”

In the football clips recently released, Kenny Bell of the University of Nebraska was pictured delivering a block that de-cleated a Wisconsin player during the 2012 Big Ten title game.

Bell, now 34, said he was “disgusted” to be part of the montage, which used music from AC/DC’s song “Thunderstruck” as its soundtrack.

“For that play to be associated with bombing human beings makes me sick,” Bell told The Washington Post. “I don’t want anything to do with images like that.”

The clip was still online as of Thursday morning and has garnered 10 million views on X. The NFL, which is usually aggressive in its protection of its intellectual property, did not respond to the Post's request for comment.

Others depicted in the clip include retired linebacker Ray Lewis and safeties Ed Reed and Kam Chancellor. So far, Reed posted his dismay on X. “I do not approve this message.”

Mason Foster, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker, was depicted crashing into a receiver during a preseason game in 2011. That’s followed by a bomb that explodes on a rocky landscape in Iran.

Foster told The Post he was shocked after he was sent the video.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Foster said this week. “It’s a strange feeling, seeing those clips like that. I don’t think anything going on in the world today is as simple as a great football play or a hit. I’m still wrapping my head around it.

“When people are losing their lives, I don’t think it can compare to a game," Foster added.

Bell and Foster both said they want the White House to remove the video.The rightsholders, including the NFL, should use the courts if they don’t, they said.

The White House declined to comment to The Post on the players’ concerns.

Removal may not be easy. Rebecca Tushnet, a First Amendment professor at Harvard Law School, said courts “have historically been hesitant to let copyright owners assert infringement in political ads and political speech,” usually opting for the “fair use” doctrine.

“The argument here seems to be: Sports and killing people are fun things that Americans are good at," Tushnet said. "That is, although repulsive, an argument.”

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