New Jersey businessman and Democratic power broker George Norcross was removed from Sunday’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys after he displayed an American-Israeli flag.

Norcross was seated in a private suite at Lincoln Financial Field when a stadium security member approached him because of the flag Norcross had hung over the edge of the suite.

In a statement to the New Jersey Globe, Norcross said, “Yesterday, I was forcibly removed and assaulted by the non-police security staff of Lincoln Financial Field and the Eagles/NFL for refusing to remove a 3′ x5′ American and Israeli flag I’d hung off the box I was sitting in.”

He continued, “As a longtime passionate fan and season ticket holder, I have watched the Eagles/NFL make clear and strong statements on numerous important civil justice issues and ethnic and world conflicts, including supporting the people of Ukraine, so as a strong supporter of Israel – a country which was viciously attacked by the terrorist group Hamas less than a month ago – I thought it was an important statement to make.”

The stadium’s policy states, “Signs, banners or similar items that are obscene or indecent, not event-related, potentially offensive to other patrons, capable of blocking the views of other fans or otherwise deemed dangerous or inappropriate by the Eagles are prohibited. They may not contain commercial messages, logos or political endorsements and may not be hung on the stadium structure.”

In his statement, Norcross said, “It remains unclear why the Eagles/NFL believe that the US-Israeli flag should be deemed ‘obscene or indecent’ or otherwise inappropriate… But as I consider whether to file suit against the Philadelphia Eagles, the NFL, and the security company which yanked me out of the box and paraded me in front of thousands of fans, I urge other supporters of Israel to make their feelings known to the team and the NFL just as they have to universities like Penn and Harvard.”

Norcross has significant influence as a Democratic power player in New Jersey and holds an executive position at insurance broker Conner Strong & Buckelew. Additionally, he serves as the chairman of the board for Cooper University Hospital and its health system in Camden, New Jersey.

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