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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">One of the many homemade signs getting trashed by security at the ACC tonight.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Stamkos2016?src=hash">#Stamkos2016</a> <a href="https://t.co/H0OYMTZOJz">pic.twitter.com/H0OYMTZOJz</a></p>
<p>— The Leafs Nation (@TLNdc) <a href="https://twitter.com/TLNdc/status/676912814649405441">December 15, 2015</a>
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<p>We all had a little bit of a chuckle at the &#8220;Sign Stamkos&#8221; posters that a Toronto Radio station printed out to give to fans tonight, but it looks like the team understood the questionable optics of allowing a campaign to woo an opponent to go on, especially when the <a href="http://theleafsnation.com/2015/12/15/did-the-leafs-just-accidentally-tamper-with-steven-stamkos"><b>bosses of the radio station are also the bosses of the hockey team</b></a><b></b>. The Leafs responded before tonight&#8217;s game by banning the signs entirely; though ones like the sign you see above were by and large allowed.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just got to ACC for Lightning/Leafs&#8230; Was told they&#8217;re not letting people in with Leafs/Stamkos signs. I shit you not.</p>
<p>— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheFourthPeriod/status/676902046457569282">December 15, 2015</a>
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<p>The speculation, at first, was that the Leafs were going with a full-scale silencing of the apologists in the crowd, but as it turns out, the ban was only on the TSN 1050 signs for being promoted content from a non-approved sponsor. As an occasional broadcaster of Leafs games on the radio and asset of Bell Media, 1050 are far from blacklisted by the Leafs, but rejecting the signs both shows that they aren&#8217;t endorsing the message, and that companies can&#8217;t get around sponsorship fees by camping outside the rink.</p>
<p>If nothing else, it keeps the tampering talk from escalating to the league level and buries these signs as a little more than a mildly successful publicity stunt.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I&#8217;m told by Leafs PR that homemade signs are allowed at the Leafs game, just no unauthorized sponsor signs.</p>
<p>— Christine Simpson (@SNChrisSimpson) <a href="https://twitter.com/SNChrisSimpson/status/676912700019077120">December 15, 2015</a>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">One of the many homemade signs getting trashed by security at the ACC tonight.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Stamkos2016?src=hash">#Stamkos2016</a> <a href="https://t.co/H0OYMTZOJz">pic.twitter.com/H0OYMTZOJz</a></p>— The Leafs Nation (@TLNdc) <a href="https://twitter.com/TLNdc/status/676912814649405441">December 15, 2015</a>
</blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</center><p>We all had a little bit of a chuckle at the "Sign Stamkos" posters that a Toronto Radio station printed out to give to fans tonight, but it looks like the team understood the questionable optics of allowing a campaign to woo an opponent to go on, especially when the <a href="http://theleafsnation.com/2015/12/15/did-the-leafs-just-accidentally-tamper-with-steven-stamkos"><b>bosses of the radio station are also the bosses of the hockey team</b></a><b></b>. The Leafs responded before tonight's game by banning the signs entirely; though ones like the sign you see above were by and large allowed.</p><center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just got to ACC for Lightning/Leafs... Was told they're not letting people in with Leafs/Stamkos signs. I shit you not.</p>— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheFourthPeriod/status/676902046457569282">December 15, 2015</a>
</blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</center><p>The speculation, at first, was that the Leafs were going with a full-scale silencing of the apologists in the crowd, but as it turns out, the ban was only on the TSN 1050 signs for being promoted content from a non-approved sponsor. As an occasional broadcaster of Leafs games on the radio and asset of Bell Media, 1050 are far from blacklisted by the Leafs, but rejecting the signs both shows that they aren't endorsing the message, and that companies can't get around sponsorship fees by camping outside the rink.</p><p>If nothing else, it keeps the tampering talk from escalating to the league level and buries these signs as a little more than a mildly successful publicity stunt.</p><center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I'm told by Leafs PR that homemade signs are allowed at the Leafs game, just no unauthorized sponsor signs.</p>— Christine Simpson (@SNChrisSimpson) <a href="https://twitter.com/SNChrisSimpson/status/676912700019077120">December 15, 2015</a>
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ACC prevents fans from coming in with branded Stamkos Signs

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