One of Joe Namath’s Furs Is Up for Auction—and PETA Wants It
For Immediate Release:
August 10, 2022
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
After learning that Joe Namath is auctioning off a 1970s mink coat, PETA sent the former quarterback a letter this morning suggesting that he instead give the coat to PETA’s fur donation program—which sends furs to people in need at refugee camps and homeless shelters as well as to wildlife rehabilitation centers to be used as bedding for orphaned animals—as Anjelica Huston, Mariah Carey, Kim Cattrall, and other compassionate celebrities have done.
“While nothing can bring back the minks who were killed for Joe Namath’s coat, it could still give some much-needed warmth to those in desperate need,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “PETA is encouraging the NFL legend to score a touchdown for kindness by donating these minks’ remains instead of trying to squeeze a few more dollars out of them.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. The group previously blasted Namath in 2014 after he wore a “caveperson” coyote fur coat to perform the Super Bowl coin toss, calling it an “eyesore.” For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
PETA’s letter to Namath follows.
Dear Joe,
We saw that you’re auctioning off some of your possessions, including one of your infamous fur coats, but if you instead turned it over to PETA, you’d gain some new fans and allow us to help those most in need.
We’ve donated coats to displaced refugees in Afghanistan and Syria, where they offer warmth and comfort to those with the only excuse to wear fur, and to homeless shelters in the U.S., including in New York, not far from where you played with the Jets.
There’s nothing we can do to bring back the animals who were beaten, electrocuted, gassed, and even skinned alive for their fur—so would you consider adding your coat to our donation program? You’d score extra points with this handoff.
Sincerely,
Matt Kilbourne
PETA
