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Macklemore ban by Robert Kraft draws fire from AOC and CAIR who advocate for free speech only when convenient
By Armando Salguero
Published September 16, 2026
It was only a matter of time before the peanut gallery complained about what amounts to an understandable decision by Robert Kraft to bounce pro-Palestinian rapper Macklemore from his house.
The lead peanut of the gallery on Tuesday was New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
She/her – gotta respect the communist/socialist/liberal pronoun thing – didn't like Kraft banning Macklemore and his show that includes antisemitic allegations of genocide by the Jewish state of Israel from Gillette Stadium – which Kraft owns.
AOC tried to brand Kraft's not-in-my-house move as a gateway threat to American freedom of speech rights.
"... When you see what Robert Kraft did, to line up all of the stadiums, to censor speech in that one specific way, it's become clear that this is not just about one music artist or two music artists, but this is about how just a handful of stadium owners and the elite can prevent an entire massive issue – in this case, the genocide in Gaza.
"But it doesn't stop there. It could be speaking out about AI. It could be speaking out about any issue that you can now just get a handful of stadium owners to ensure that an entire person's career can be jeopardized if they speak out about any issue."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., delivers remarks during a rally for Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb on May 15, 2026, in Philadelphia. Rabb is running in the Pennsylvania primary election on Tuesday, May 19, with three other Democrats on the ballot. (Getty Images)
MACKLEMORE DOUBLES DOWN AFTER GETTING KICKED OFF ED SHEERAN TOUR AFTER PRO-PALESTINE STANCE
Firstly, it has not been confirmed that Kraft rallied his fellow NFL owners to keep Macklemore's rants out of their stadiums and thus prompt the concert promoter to jettison him from Ed Sheeran's tour. That unconfirmed allegation was made by Macklemore.
But suppose Kraft did exactly what Macklemore said and AOC repeated ... how is that an attack on free speech?
If we live in a country where a Jewish man must open his business to obscene anti-Jewish lunatics spewing lies and hate, then how long before Black business owners must serve customers who are openly and verbally racist at their place of business?
Hamas fighters secure an area before handing over an Israeli-American hostage Keith Siegel to a Red Cross team in Gaza City on Feb. 1, 2025, as part of the fourth hostage-prisoner exchange. Ranks of Hamas fighters formed up on Gaza's beachfront in a show of force against the dramatic backdrop of breaking waves. (SAEED JARAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
AOC's position is on-brand illogical and not the least bit based on the Constitution.
We've unfortunately come to expect this from the congresswoman and her so-called "Squad." And it gets worse.
Notice AOC called what is happening in Gaza a genocide. She says it all the time. She says it casually, as do all pro-Palestinian advocates.
That's right, the people who want to drive the world's only Jewish state off the map, with their "river-to-the-sea" protests, are claiming their people are the victims of genocide.
The Israeli genocide accusation always masks the fact that Hamas started a war on Oct. 7, 2023, by killing 1,200 Jews, including civilians, women, children and even babies.
Hamas fighters secure an area before handing over Israeli-American hostage Keith Siegel to a Red Cross team in Gaza City on Feb. 1, 2025, as part of the fourth hostage-prisoner exchange. (OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images)
And as Kraft noted in a statement, "only sharing selective information and ignoring the actions of Hamas is not honest and only advances more divisiveness and hate."
Last week, AOC made sure to sit with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani during the solemn September 11th Remembrance Ceremony near where the Twin Towers used to stand. Both continually perpetuate the genocide lie.
The families of the victims of September 11th gathered over 100,000 signatures to petition Mamdani to skip the event. Again, AOC made sure to sit with him.
But she is not the only one condemning Kraft and his fellow NFL stadium owners.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) released a statement demanding Sheeran and the tour promoters reinstate Macklemore.
"They should pursue legal options or reschedule his tour rather than give in to bullying by billionaires who care about free speech as much as they care about slaughtered Palestinian children," the statement read.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft smiles before the NFL 2025 game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 19. (Kara Durrette/Getty Images)
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CAIR, by the way, is designated in Texas and Florida as a terrorist or criminal organization. And whether that designation sticks or not, this truth does:
CAIR would never release a statement demanding a privately held mosque allow the preaching of the Gospel. It would never demand rights for women to mix among men during worship in those mosques.
And it would never demand that Robert Kraft be allowed to enter any mosque and read the books of the Torah.
So much for the peanut gallery advocating for free speech, freedom of religion and equal rights for women.
FOLLOW ARMANDO SALGUERO ON X: @ARMANDOSALGUERO
https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/macklemore-ban-robert-kraft-draws-fire-aoc-cair-advocate-free-speech-convenient