The National Football League (NFL) is upset with Georgia's proposed religious exemptions bill, which would protect business owners from being falsely accused of discrimination if they decide to turn down services on the ground that doing so would violate their religious beliefs regarding marriage. The sports organisation even threatened to scrap Atlanta's Super Bowl bid because of the bill.

This is something that does not sit well with Rev. Franklin Graham. "Atlanta is a great location for the Super Bowl, but the NFL has come out against Georgia's religious exemptions bill, threatening that it could impact Atlanta's consideration in the Super Bowl selection process for 2019 and 2020," the evangelist writes on his Facebook page.

Graham suspects that "LGBT forces and corporate super powers" are using this threat to try and stop the bill that would "protect pastors from performing same-sex marriages and give faith-based organisations permission to deny use of their facilities for things outside their religious beliefs."

LGBT supporters might say the bill is discriminatory, but Graham says their claims are all lies. "[The bill] does not legalise discrimination as opponents are trying to say, rather it helps contain the growing discrimination against Christians who simply want to live out their faith," he explains.

"The bill has already passed both houses of the Georgia legislature and has the support of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. Governor Nathan Deal is set to make his decision in the next few weeks. Let's pray that Gov. Deal will protect the religious freedoms of Georgians. Write him and let him know how you feel about this — stand up against this NFL blitz!" he urges.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy earlier told Fox News that their "policies emphasise tolerance and inclusiveness, and prohibit discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other improper standard."

"Whether the laws and regulations of a state and local community are consistent with these policies would be one of many factors NFL owners may use to evaluate potential Super Bowl host sites," he said.