By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Quarterback Josh Freeman had a banner year, but his image has been removed from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
In fact, the team had oversized pictures of eight Tampa Bay Buccaneers taken down this past weekend. Because of the NFL lockout, the league has discouraged teams from using the likenesses of players for marketing purposes.
Some of the banners featured the marketing slogan "Unite and Conquer," which will be replaced. It's likely the team will want to promote different stars.
But the timing of the banners being removed and the lockout is not coincidental. "All things pointed to now being the time," Bucs spokesman Jonathan Grella said.