Saturday’s Army-Navy game took place under snowy lights in Philadelphia, and the game opened up with a barb when the Midshipmen showed off a “not communist” banner hung from their stands.
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Random “Not Communist” sign in front of the Midshipmen… #ArmyNavyGame pic.twitter.com/j5ppNR44kS
— Justin Cook (@jbgcook) December 9, 2017
The “not communist” sign is a shot at the so-called “Communist Cadet” who graduated from West Point last year. The student, Spenser Rapone, taped a sign to the inside of his hat during the academy’s graduation bearing the slogan “communism will win.” He even posted a photo of his decoration to Twitter.
https://twitter.com/punkproletarian/status/912065310232072192
Rapone also uploaded a photo of himself in a shirt adorned with the face of Che Guevara — the Marxist Argentinian revolutionary who has become a cult figure.
Independent Journal Review’s Julio Rosas was at the game and managed to snap a few photos of signs that the Midshipmen were flying that issued the same message, including one that read “communism won’t win.” IJR followed with a story on the game.
Dj khaled: "Another one." #ArmyNavyGame pic.twitter.com/Gibc2NMPQ8
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) December 9, 2017
After the images of Rapone went viral, West Point decided to open an investigation into him. In an October statement, Lieutenant General Robert Caslen released a statement saying, “Rapone is the subject of two ongoing investigations,” but noted that he cannot give details of ongoing investigations. Caslen also said that he launched an additional investigation aimed at looking into Rapone’s time at the academy.
The Army-Navy game is one of the oldest traditions in football and in American sports as a whole. The game first took place in 1890, and the Navy leads the series with a 60-51-7 record (including the 2017 match-up when the Black Knights won 14-13). For the most part, the game is held in Philadelphia as a neutral ground between the two academies; SB Nation notes that 86 of the 116 events have been held in the nation’s former capital. Rare exceptions include last year when the game took place at the Baltimore Ravens stadium, and in 2021, when the teams will meet at the MetLife stadium outside of New York City.
Last year, President Trump stopped by the stadium and even visited the announcer’s booth where he described the environment as “incredible.” This year, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on the field for the coin flip as the president is at his Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.