NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre, like many others, was unimpressed with Allstate CEO Tom Wilson’s message before the Sugar Bowl this week.
Wilson faced backlash on social media after he said in a video message earlier Thursday College Football Playoffs quarterfinal game that Americans should overcome their “addiction to divisiveness” and instead “embrace human imperfections and differences.”
Tom Wilson, chairman and chief executive officer of Allstate Corp., listens during the CEO Initiative event in New York on September 25, 2017. (Misha Friedman/Bloomberg)
His message was in response to the terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in the early hours of New Year’s Day that killed 14 people and injured dozens.
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“On Wednesday, tragedy struck a community in New Orleans. Our prayers are with the victims and their families. We must also be stronger together by overcoming our addiction to division and negativity,” he said.
“Join Allstate working in local communities across America to amplify positivity, increase trust, and embrace people’s imperfections and differences. Together, we win.”
Favre released X on Friday, also criticizing the statement calls ESPN for not playing the national anthem before the game between Georgia and Notre Dame.
Former NFL player Brett Favre speaks onstage on SiriusXM at Super Bowl LIV on January 31, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
“Heard: There was no telecast of the National Anthem for the Sugar Bowl yesterday. Instead a DEI message from the CEO of Allstate,” his post read. “Woke is a joke.”
Many threatened to boycott Allstate over the message, but in a statement to Fox News Digital Thursday, the company clarified Wilson’s position by condemning “violence in all forms.”
“To be clear, Allstate CEO Tom Wilson unequivocally condemns this heinous act of terrorism and violence in all its forms. We stand with the families of the victims, their loved ones and the community of New Orleans. The reference to overcoming division and negativity reflects a broader commitment to foster trust and positivity in communities across the nation,” the statement said.
The field before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Georgia Bulldogs at the Caesars Superdome. (Stephen Lew/Imagn Images)
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Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a US Army veteran, made his way through the crowd on Bourbon Street using a pick-up truck emblazoned with an ISIS flag. He was declared dead after an exchange of fire with the police.
The FBI labeled him as terrorist act and found some potential improvised explosive devices around the French Quarter and in Jabbar’s vehicle.
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