Seahawks Send Cease and Desist to GOP Senate Candidate

This is the part of the ad the Seahawks sued over (youtube still image Tiffany Smiley ad)

Legally, the cease and desist is understandable, but the optics could look bad, and the Seattle Times also shows apparent double-standard.

Seahawks demand GOP candidate remove or blur jersey briefly seen in campaign ad

The Seattle Seahawks, according to multiple sources including the Washington Examiner, have sent a letter to GOP Congressional Senate Candidate Tiffany Smiley, demanding she either remove or blur a Seahawks jersey briefly seen in one of her ads.

Similarly, her ad about crime and closed businesses in Seattle has drawn fire from Starbucks and the Seattle Times. Smiley is seen talking in front of a closed storefront in Seattle, and a newspaper article about the closing of 5 Seattle-area Starbucks contains a Times logo. The ads discuss exploding crime, and how it's causing business closures.

Both have similarly demanded to be removed, however, the Examiner points out that in 2016 Murray used logos without any incident:

"The campaign (Smiley) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against the Seattle Times since the paper didn't take action when Murray used its logo in a similar way during her 2016 campaign."

To see the complaint, click here.

In 2014 when the Seahawks played the New York Giants in Seattle, her husband, Army Ranger Scott Smiley, was honored by the team. He was blinded by a roadside bomb in the Middle East and has since recovered to become the Army's first blind active duty officer. Scott raised the 12th Man flag, but critics now point out that less than 8 years later, the team threatened to sue his wife for a brief appearance of a Seahawks jersey in an ad.

The ad in question was called the "Gameday" ad, in which she addresses rising food and other family costs.