Car Dealership Pulls Von Miller Commercial After he Kneeled for National Anthem

The dealership says Von Miller’s ads were pulled because of “contract negotiations.”

A Colorado car dealership has asked two local television stations to stop airing its commercial featuring Von Miller, one of the stations, 9NEWS, said Monday. 

The other station, KOAA, erroneously reported that Miller had been “fired,” but Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post reported that Miller’s contract with Phil Long Ford had expired in March and the two sides had not made much progress on a new deal. The dealership told 9NEWS that the decision to pull the ads the day after Miller’s protest was made due to “contract negotiations.”

The dealership said in a statement that while Miller had not been fired “this weekend's events remind us that sometimes we feel that we best represent ourselves.”

We are evaluating the events of the weekend. It is important to state that we haven't fired Von. We are in the middle of contract renewal and this weekend's events remind us that sometimes we feel that we best represent ourselves. We support Von and his first amendment rights, we know Von and he's a good person. He donated a police car to his hometown police dept. All that notwithstanding when we bring in celebrities to represent us we run the risk of being misrepresented. 

We, like millions of Americans are concerned and will respond consistently with our values as a proud American company founded by a war hero (Phil Long). While we can't control the actions of others we can be responsible for how we support our nation and community. That is why, years ago, our principal owner, Jay Cimino, founded the Mount Carmel Veteran's Service center, and is supported by all Phil Long Dealerships. We support this cause not just with our words, but financially as well, and it is serving hundreds of veterans in need right here in Colorado. This would be a great time for our community to show support for our military community by supporting this cause or others that continue to serve them after they serve us.

The majority of Broncos players—32 of them ​by the Denver Post’s count—took a knee during the anthem before Sunday’s game in Buffalo. Miller kneeled next to linebacker Brandon Marshall, whose decision to kneel last season led two sponsors to drop him as a pitchman.