© Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
The NFL acted swiftly in handing down a punishment to a Super Bowl protestor that held up a flag during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show. The protestor was initially a performer in the actual Super Bowl Halftime Show before they pulled out a Sudan/Gaza flag and ran around the field evading security.
Typically, when there are protestors at the Super Bowl they jump onto the field from the stands but this protestor was able to maneuver themselves onto the field as a performer which is a Super Bowl first, as far as I can remember. And the NFL stuck to it’s zero tolerance policy for politics quickly handed down a lifetime ban from all stadiums and events.
If anything, I find it remarkable how long the protestor was running around the field before he was tackled by security:
Pro-Palestinian protestor runs on field during #SuperBowl #HalfTimeShow (is detained by security shortly after) pic.twitter.com/Dkh2kLNpok
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) February 10, 2025
In a statement, the NFL announced the protestor would be banned from all NFL stadiums for life. The league also praised security personnel for acting swiftly. A league spokesman told CBS News:
“We commend security for quickly detaining the individual who displayed the flag. He was a part of the 400-member field cast. The individual hid the item on his person and unveiled it late in the show. No one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent.”
Here is another view of the protestor waving the Gaza/Sudan flag around while evading security for a full minute during the Halftime Show:
During the Super Bowl halftime show, a protester stormed the field waving a Palestinian and Sudanese flag, demanding the world’s attention on genocide and oppression. He was later tackled by security. pic.twitter.com/CYRdoTbOfC
— Mondoweiss (@Mondoweiss) February 10, 2025
Eventually, security descended upon the protestor and tackled him. Six men in suits then carried him off the field and the fan is now banned for life. Jay-Z’s Roc Nation who was in charge of producing the halftime show stated the protest was “neither planned nor part of the production and was never in any rehearsal.”
It does seem to defy logic that year after year there are protestors at the Halftime Show. The Super Bowl is packed full of the nation’s wealthiest elite. Seats are occupied by leaders of the biggest corporations on earth. Yet protestors continually slip past security to make a point. Does the league have a security problem?