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Sunday, 1 October 2017

The national anthem in football, baseball and war

Source: www.ocregister.com --- Saturday, September 30, 2017
Once Donald Trump got in the game, celebrities who fancy themselves public intellectuals felt the urge to pontificate on the national anthem controversy inundating the National Football League. Jesse Williams, a television actor whose sideline is leftist political harangues, was among them. Williams’ claim to fame is his portrayal of handsome and headstrong Jackson Avery, a fictional “Grey’s Anatomy” physician who clashes with his colleagues because he’s stubborn and overconfident. It’s good casting by ABC. Meanwhile, on a rival network, Williams expounded on his views about the “The Star-Spangled Banner” at sporting events. Following the obligatory insults directed at Trump (“a dictator”), the actor let it fly. “This anthem thing is a scam,” Williams said. “This is actually not a part of football. This was invented in 2009 from the government paying the NFL to market military recruitment — to get more people to fight wars to die. This has nothing to do with the NFL or the American pastime or tradition. This is to get boys and girls to go fly overseas and go kill people.” This screed was punctuated, twice, by MSNBC host Thomas Roberts saying, “Right.” No, this isn’t right. It is wrong. Spectacularly and stupidly so. For starters, the national anthem has been played at NFL games since the 1940s. The reference to 2009 suggests that the extent of Williams’ research comes from a dishonest Facebook meme popular among a certain set. W ...



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