The National Football League (NFL) will play “Lift Every Voice and Sing” also known as the “Black National Anthem” before every Week 1 game at the start of the upcoming 2020 season. The American National Anthem will be played immediately after. This move comes on the heels of nationwide protests relating to Black Lives Matter.
What Is The Purpose?
Critics of the move to say that this is happening just to please the “mob” that engage in chaos. It appears as if they are correct. Looting, pillaging, and general chaos have been a hallmark feature of many “Black Lives Matter” protests. American citizens largely disapprove of this type of behavior. Most people are not political let alone destructive.
Internal Drama
The problem is that several active NFL players have expressed sympathy for BLM as an organization and as a movement. They vow to continue to express their viewpoints on and off the field. Then there are advertisers and other large corporations that work with the NFL that share the same viewpoints as BLM-sympathetic NFL players.
So the NFL has to play a delicate balancing act of pleasing high-profile players like Patrick Mahomes, advertisers, fans, and also the NFL itself. The Colin Kaepernick kneeling fiasco cost the NFL millions of dollars. Upwards of 20% of gross revenue was lost during that time. The new BLM threat could cost them more. Especially if they lose fans, advertising revenue, and on-field production from high-level players.
Have You Ever Heard Of This?
The “Black National Anthem” is a relatively obscure song. Large pockets of the black community know about it and can sing it by heart, but most don’t. It’s not much different than Juneteenth. An obscure holiday celebrated by an extreme minority that is now only celebrated to prove a point about not being racist and/or to gain “woke” points.
While some appreciate “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” to play it before the National Anthem before every football game is divisive. It’s sort of a … here’s my anthem and then here’s your anthem instead of playing “our” anthem. There is no need for that in today’s day and age when unity should be the primary focus of Americans.
SOURCE:
NFL to play Black national anthem ‘Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing’ before ‘Star Spangled Banner’ at Week 1 games – CBSSports.com
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” – YouTube
Lift Every Voice and Sing – Wikipedia
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