According to The Fresno Bee, before Clovis High played Buchanan Friday night for the Central Section softball championship, the announcer representing the section stated there wouldn’t be a national anthem prior to the game.
Those in attendance at Fresno State’s Margie Wright Diamond weren’t having any of that.
‘After some booing, the whole stadium stood up and started singing it on their own,’ one attendee reported to the Daily Mail.
Event coordinator Bob Kayajanian said that when more than one game is played in a day, the anthem is generally played only before the first game.
‘We try to follow with what normally gets done,’ Kayajanian said. ‘It’s all a learning experience for everyone and (going forward) we’re playing the national anthem at every game.’
President Trump on Tuesday said the country is “fed up” with the NFL players who protest during the national anthem by taking a knee.
“At least 24 players kneeling this weekend at NFL stadiums that are now having a very hard time filling up. The American public is fed up with the disrespect the NFL is paying to our Country, our Flag and our National Anthem. Weak and out of control!” Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/935489831005810688
The National Anthem controversy began with player Colin Kaepernick taking a knee in protest. The divide has essentially killed the NFL for most patriots and the league has begun to feel the strain.
As Reported By Yahoo Finance:
Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem during the NFL preseason as a protest to injustices against people of color, and he has done so in every game this season. More than 40 football players have followed Kaepernick’s lead, either by taking a knee, sitting on the bench, or standing with a raised fist, including stars like Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall, Miami Dolphins running back Arian Foster, and New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett. And athletes outside of football have joined the protests, like U.S. Women’s soccer team star Megan Rapinoe. But Kaepernick remains the face of the protests.
Every time Yahoo Finance has written about the NFL ratings decline, Yahoo readers have shouted in our comments and on Twitter that the biggest reason for the decline is Kaepernick’s anthem protests. “I can tell you why, it is because diehard fans like me have been insulted by the owners and the NFL allowing these players to kneel or sit during the national anthem,” one reader wrote. “TOTAL DISRESPECT to America. WE are protesting. I have not watched a game this year yet.” Another reader wrote, “When the players stop disrespecting this nation and our Flag then I might start watching games again.”