GOP Senator Investigating NBC Pledge Edit

Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) today sent a letter to Comcast/NBC Universal President Stephen Burke expressing “serious concern” about NBC’s decision to edit the Pledge of Allegiance during its broadcast of the U.S. Open golf tournament. During its coverage, NBC twice featured a segment with children reciting the Pledge, but the words "under God" and "indivisible" were omitted.

In his letter, Coats writes, “I am disturbed with NBC’s decision to modify the Pledge for this broadcast. I understand that NBC acknowledged its error at a later point in Sunday’s broadcast, and has since stated that this action was a ‘bad decision’ made by a small group of individuals. Nonetheless, I remain concerned that such a decision to selectively edit the Pledge could be made in the first place.”

Coats asked NBC to provide a written account of its decision-making process and what actions the network will take to prevent a similar occurrence from happening in the future.