Florida Georgia Line responds to anti-police rumors previously published by TMZ and other sites.
Florida Georgia Line — We Love Cops, But We Have Our Own Security
The guys from Florida Georgia Line want to make it clear they have total respect for men and women in blue — but, respectfully, there’s a good reason they didn’t need their help backstage.
Sources close to FGL’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard tell us security for all their concerts is handled through promoters at the venues. It’s just part of their contracts for each gig.
We’re told local cops regularly ask if they can help out backstage, and are usually told it’s not necessary. FGL’s team believes this frees up law enforcement for other security needs around the venue.
TMZ broke the story … an Iowa sheriff was fuming after getting turned away backstage. Our FGL sources said that incident and one in Wisconsin are rarities, because most law enforcement welcome the fact the band is self-sufficient.
Bottom line, according to our sources — Florida Georgia Line is extremely “pro-police.”
This all stems from a previous TMZ report that cited FGL turned away uniformed officers at the venue, only to have their management scramble to bring them back after the show to provide a protected escort out.
“Florida Georgia Line dissed law enforcement working security at their concert … according to an Iowa Sheriff who says the band banned officers, and then came crawling back for protection.
Jones County Sheriff Greg Graver tells TMZ he was headed backstage Saturday night at the Great Jones County Fair to discuss security protocol with the band when he was stopped by a crew member and told no uniformed officers were allowed backstage, per the band.
Sheriff Graver says he was told the country duo even threatened to pull the plug on the concert if they saw any cops.
Graver says midway through the performance, he was told the band wanted a police escort out of town after the show — but he told them he wouldn’t spend “one tax dollar assisting them” … after being disrespected.
He says the band’s management scrambled for other law enforcement agencies to provide the escort … but they also told FGL to kick rocks. They ended up leaving on their own.
A similar incident went down with Wisconsin cops last week. We’ve reached out to the band … no word back.
They did tweet, saying they have “nothing but love and respect for the police.“”