Mon Jun 8 23:03:10 2020
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— Time has come to stop playing the national anthem before NFL games
— The NFL should eliminate playing the national anthem before games.
A major theme in the movement for change in the United States is unity. In order for the NFL to remain in step, it is time to end what has become a divisive tradition.
The playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before athletic events has been a long-standing tradition. It somewhat started on Sept. 5, 1918, during Game 1 of the World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs in Chicago.
Since America entered World War I 18 months earlier, more than 100,000 U.S. soldiers had died. A day before the game, a bomb had exploded in Chicago, killing four people and injuring dozens more.
The Associated Press wrote in 2017:
“… in the seventh inning, a band from the Navy training station north of Chicago started to play “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Players took off their caps as they faced a flag that fluttered atop a pole in right field as the 12-piece band began to play. All of them except Red Sox infielder Fred Thomas.
Thomas was in the Navy during the series — he played on the team fielded by the Great Lakes station that was also home to the band — but was granted furlough so he could play. When the Wisconsin native heard the music, “he turned toward the flag, kept his hat on and gave a military salute,” said Jim Leeke, author of “From the Dugouts to the Trenches: Baseball During the Great War.”
Red Sox owner Harry Frazee made the anthem a regular part of Boston home games. The Star-Spangled Banner officially became the U.S. national anthem in 1931, and by the end of World War II, NFL Commissioner Elmer Layden ordered that it be played at every game. The tradition spread to other sports.
The Washington Post explained in 2016 that controversy and the anthem crossed paths in the mid-1950s.
In 1954, the general manager of the Baltimore Orioles, Arthur Ellers, a World War I veteran, complained that about the fact that fans went on talking, laughing and moving around as the anthem was played.
“To me,” Ellers said, “it’s very distasteful.”
So disrespectful did he find it that he decided it wouldn’t be played anymore, relenting about a month later under pressure from the Baltimore City Council, which counts among the city’s main tourist attractions Fort McHenry, the actual broad stripes, bright stars and rockets red glare had inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words in 1814.
And now, 66 years later, the anthem stands as a song meshing patriotism and controversy.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been effectively banished from the NFL after taking a knee during the anthem. He opted out of a contract in 2017 and has not been offered another deal.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Media’s Steve Wyche. “To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
And a case that has seen four Minneapolis police officers charged in the alleged murder of George Floyd has sparked peaceful protests in pursuit of change that has brought together people young, old and of all races. A multicultural revolution.
Former Minnesota Viking and current Washington Redskins RB Adrian Peterson told the Houston Chronicle: “Just four years ago, you’re seeing Kaepernick taking a knee, and now we’re all getting ready to take a knee together going into this season, without a doubt.”
In seeking change and looking to bring people together rather than further a countrywide divide, the time seems right to make a change and discontinue the tradition of playing the anthem before NFL games. Remember, it is a custom and a tradition, not a law.
Kaepernick is not alone as an athlete ostracized by a stance against the anthem. Sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos were treated as pariahs after their raised-fist, black-gloved protest on the podium following the 200-meter race at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf is known for the controversy created when he refused to stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner” before games, stating that the flag was a symbol of oppression and that the United States had a long history of tyranny. On March 12, 1996, the NBA suspended Abdul-Rauf for his refusal to stand, costing Abdul-Rauf $31,707 per missed game.
Two days later, Abdul-Rauf worked out a compromise with the league, whereby he would stand during the playing of the national anthem but could close his eyes and look downward. He usually silently recited Islamic prayer during this time for those who are suffering from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds.
The point is the song has been a point of controversy throughout time. And now, times have changed. Commissioner Roger Goodell and New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees’ about-faces are prime examples of that.
NASCAR, which believes it is as patriotic and part of the fabric of America as any sport, had a moment of silence before its race Sunday in Atlanta.
Brynn Anderson/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Network
The idea of discontinuing the anthem isn’t about disrespecting the United States of America, the American flag, or any American citizens. It is simply recognizing that times change, and observances need to change with them.
