New Jersey Business Owner Refuses to Take Down Controversial Billboard After Activists Demand Its Removal

A billboard outside a New Jersey shooting range sparked heated debate after civil rights groups demanded it be taken down, and the business owner refused.

Wesley Aducat, owner of the South Jersey Shooting Club in Camden County, put up a billboard that read “The only time we take a knee” alongside an image of a person in dark clothing holding a rifle in a kneeling shooting position.

The sign was widely interpreted as a reference to NFL players who had been kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality, a movement started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016.

The Camden County East chapter of the NAACP and the South Jersey Women for Progressive Change both called on Aducat to remove the billboard, arguing that the message was inflammatory and insensitive.

Keith Benson Sr., an NAACP member, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the billboard trivialized the issue at the heart of the protests. “We’re talking about police murdering unarmed black people,” Benson said.

Aducat declined to take the sign down. He insisted the billboard had “nothing to do with race” and was intended to express support for military veterans and the Second Amendment. He said the image simply depicted a standard shooting stance and that any connection to the NFL kneeling protests was being read into it by others.

The story quickly went viral, drawing strong reactions on both sides. Many supporters praised Aducat online for standing by his billboard, while critics said the timing and phrasing made the intent unmistakable.

The debate reflected the deep divide that had formed across the country over the national anthem protests, which had become one of the most polarizing cultural issues of 2017 and 2018, drawing commentary from fans, team owners, and even President Donald Trump, who called for protesting players to be fired.