George Norcross ejected from Eagles game after displaying U.S.-Israeli flag at the Linc

South Jersey political power broker George Norcross III was forced to leave Lincoln Financial Field before the end of Sunday’s Eagles win against the Dallas Cowboys.

Norcross, an insurance executive and former co-owner of The Inquirer, was ejected after draping a flag that showed support for Israel out of the window of a luxury box at the Linc. The Eagles attempted to mediate the situation before having Norcross removed, including seeking assistance from Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, who was watching the game from another box, according to a city spokesperson.

Video shared on social media captured the moment Norcross was confronted by officials at the Linc, who removed the banner and escorted him out of the box. The flag was a mash-up of the United States and Israeli flags.

The Eagles issued a statement Monday evening reiterating the organization’s policy against displaying certain types of signs at the stadium, and accusing Norcross of abusive behavior.

“We feel it necessary to articulate the facts of the matter involving Mr. Norcross at the stadium on Sunday. Mr. Norcross’ removal from the stadium had nothing to do with the content of his sign,” the team said in the statement.

“Our stadium policies expressly prohibit signage containing any kind of non-game messaging to be hung from a stadium suite. Stadium staff repeatedly asked Mr. Norcross to remove the sign he hung outside of the suite,” the Eagles said. “Instead of complying with the request, Mr. Norcross became physically and verbally abusive. Mr. Norcross was ejected from the stadium only after his abuse toward numerous stadium staff members continued.”

“He was escorted from the suite level to the stadium’s ejection point, just as anyone else would be after engaging in abusive behavior in violation of stadium policy,” the Eagles said.

Last month, the Eagles released a statement condemning the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, which killed at least 1,400 people across several locations outside the Gaza Strip. More than 240 Israelis — including children — remain in Hamas’ custody as hostages.

“The tragic loss of innocent lives in Israel is both shocking and heartbreaking,” the team’s statement read. “We condemn the abhorrent acts of terrorism and we grieve for all the victims and their families. We pray for peace to be brought to the people of the region.”

In a statement, Norcross said he thought a flag showing support for Israel was “an important statement to make” and cited the Eagles’ own statement in support of the country last month.

“It remains unclear why the Eagles/NFL believe that the US-Israeli flag should be deemed ‘obscene or indecent’ or otherwise inappropriate — which is what I was cited for — and should therefore be ripped down despite both issuing public statements strongly supporting Israel following the October 7th attacks,” Norcross said.

Norcross also said he was considering filing a lawsuit against the Eagles and the NFL over the incident and called on those in support of Israel “to make their feelings known” to the team. He denied claims he was physically abusive with members of the Eagles staff and described claims he acted inappropriately as “a silly and transparent attempt” at deflecting attention from the flag issue.

“The only abuse at all is when the Eagles/NFL security force assaulted me and arm locked me behind my back,” Norcross said in the statement. “Regarding verbal abuse, for sure I was extremely angry that the team would physically treat people this way and that the Eagles/NFL leadership wouldn’t show the same support for Israel it has shown for other civil rights issues and ethnic and world conflicts.”

Norcross’ brother, Rep. Donald Norcross (D., N.J.), joined a congressional delegation to Israel days after Hamas’ attack.

“There is zero room for excuses, justification, or rationale for this inhumane action,” the Camden County representative told The Inquirer last month.

Sunday’s incident took place in the Mayor’s Box, which the City of Philadelphia subleases, with proceeds going to a local nonprofit. The city doesn’t manage dissemination of tickets.

It appears that the Eagles sought Kenney’s assistance amid the conflict Sunday. Sarah Peterson, a spokesperson for the mayor, said he was watching the game from another box and visited the Mayor’s Box in the first half of the game to speak to Norcross “at the request of the Eagles.”

“My understanding is that the conversation happened in the first half of the game, and the mayor was asked to speak to Mr. Norcross as a friend about the facility’s flag policies,” Peterson said.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is among the candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination to run against President Joe Biden in 2024, is seen in video circulated on social media sitting to the right of Norcross in the luxury box as security guards escorted him out and removed the flag.

Christie did not respond to a request for comment.

Christie, an outspoken Cowboys fans, was seen in front of what appears to be the same flag during an interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Ron Jaworski at a pregame tailgate party thrown by Norcross.