The Atlanta Falcons refused to grant the New Orleans Saints and sculptor Brian Hanlon permission to use the Falcons' symbol or the punter Michael Koenen's name in ,'Rebirth', the statue commemorating safety Steve Gleason's famous blocked punt. The Saints repeatedly sought permission from the Falcons, even urging officials in Atlanta to appeal directly to Falcons owner Arthur Blank. The Falcons told the Saints that appeal had been made, but it remained unclear if Blank personally forbid the use of the trademarks or if underlings simply brushed aside the request from a division rival. Koenen, now with the Tampa Bay Bucceneers, has accepted his place in New Orleans history with grace. He tweeted about the statue Friday afternoon saying, "Awesome day for an inspirational man in @teamgleason," Koenen wrote. "God bless you in your fight partner!! Half of me likes your statue;)" Source: James Varney, The Times-Picayune
Oh come on. If your rival organization got sparked by an asswhooping they laid on you on national TV, and went on to win a Super Bowl while you're stuck being mediocre, do you really want to aid in a statue that's going to sit there for years to come with your name on it. Would the Steelers lend their logo to a Ravens statue based off a play that got them in the Super Bowl? Browns? Bengals? Hell no, so stop the double standard here.
i see that side of it too....the Sam Mills statue the Panthers put up makes my skin crawl, considering what he was to us compared to two freaking seasons with the Pansies