Maine US Senate candidate Graham Platner ad criticizing Boston Red Sox pulled during game

Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner says a campaign ad that says private equity has destroyed the Boston Red Sox was removed by the station during Friday’s game — which the Sox lost.

“Yesterday we started running this ad during the Red Sox game,” the campaign account for Democrat Graham Platner posted on X on Saturday. “Midway through the game the ad was taken down by the station (which is owned by Red Sox ownership).

“And then the Sox blew a 4–0 lead,” the post added.

The Red Sox lost to the Minnesota Twins Friday night 8 to 6.

Political newcomer Platner, an oyster farmer and combat veteran, is the expected Democratic Party nominee to take on Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins after Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, ended her own campaign last month, citing funding issues.

Platner is a controversial figure due to some old social media posts and a chest tattoo featuring a symbol associated with the Nazi paramilitary police the Schutzstaffel, or SS. Platner has since covered the tattoo and said that he hadn’t been aware of the symbol’s association.

The 30-second ad didn’t mention the Sox by name in Platner’s voiceover, but it did cite a March 2021 Axios article headline that eliminated the need to guess: “Private Equity Firm to Get Stake in Boston Red Sox.”

Here’s Platner’s voiceover in its entirety: “Private equity has destroyed our favorite baseball team, stripping them for parts. Private equity is buying up our homes, our sports, and our lives. I will reverse the private equity curse. I’m Graham Platner and I approve this message because I miss Mookie Betts.”

The campaign account posted the full ad to its page on Friday.