Graham Platner runs controversial ad during Red Sox game vowing to ‘reverse the private equity curse’

Graham Platner, Maine’s presumptive Democratic Senate nominee, began Memorial Day weekend by releasing an ad on the cable station that airs Boston Red Sox games accusing team owners of ruining the storied franchise. He then ended it by criticizing the team’s ownership for pulling the critical message from the air. It was a move designed to appeal to the team’s devoted fanbase and provoke its wealthy ownership. And within hours of the network’s decision, Platner has been all too eager to capitalize on the removal, using it to push his populist message as he campaigns to unseat longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine. “We ran an ad during last night’s Red Sox game exposing how private equity is making everything in our lives worse, and it got pulled midway through the game by a station owned by Red Sox ownership,” Platner said in a statement on Saturday. “And of course, the Red Sox blew a 4-0 lead to lose the game.” The ad was pulled by New England Sports Network, which is owned predominantly by Fenway Sports Group, a conglomerate that also owns the Red Sox and Liverpool of the Premier League. “NESN removes advertisements when credible concerns arise regarding the use of intellectual property,” the network said in a statement. “The advertisement in question was removed because the creative included unauthorized use of third-party intellectual property and did not comply with NESN’s advertising standards.” NESN did not immediately answer questions about what specifically in the ad violated the station’s rules. The Red Sox also did not respond to a question seeking comment. Collins’ campaign said in a statement that Platner’s criticism of the Red Sox was an attempt to change the subject from “questions about his judgment and character.” Platner has been dogged during the campaign with questions about a tattoo he eventually had covered up that was associated with Nazi imagery. His old social media posts about subjects including