NOM's Ruth Institute caught lying about support of Chicago Bears

Recently, NOM's Ruth Institute sent the following out via email:

From Equality Matters:

According to the email, the gala will include a raffle featuring two pieces of autographed memorabilia from the Chicago Bears Organization, who the group thanks for “supporting our message”:

This year, we're planning on sending our graduates off with a bang! And we've got some help! Several donors have stepped up and donated terrific items for us to raffle as prizes in an effort to raise funds for ITAF '13.
[…]
For now, you should know that we have two fabulous raffle items from the Chicago Bears Organization (and a huge THANK YOU to the Bears for supporting our message).

The items in mentioned are the following:

Naturally, this left many folks wondering about whether the Chicago Bears supports NOM and the Ruth Institute's anti-gay message. After some inquiries, the Chicago Bears sent the following message:

"The two items featured in The Ruth Institute gala invitation were personal donations to Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse. Neither was a club donation, nor do they represent the team’s view on any social issues. Any remarks stating otherwise are false." 

Check and mate.  

This is a story in progress. Details may or may not change.

UPDATE - Jennifer Morse of NOM's Ruth Institute confirms the fact that the email was a lie:

Reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, Morse initially declined comment. But the website later dropped all images and references to the Bears at the team's request, and Morse issued a statement: "The Ruth Institute is not working with the Chicago Bears organization or any of its players past or present to promote our upcoming auction. The memorabilia we are auctioning off was acquired by me personally, not through the team or players. We understand that the Chicago Bears organization takes no position on social issues, and we regret any confusion we may have caused on this point."