Kneeling during anthem is unpatriotic no matter why
To the editor:
About a year ago, because of the controversy over the kneeling of sports players during the playing of the national anthem, and because of how strongly I felt that this was disrespectful to the active service men and veterans, I did some research into the subject. Here is what I found.
In 1889 “The Star-Spangled Banner” became the official song of flag raising ceremonies. During WWI, Major League Baseball teams had bands play patriotic songs, mostly during the seventh-inning stretch, to boost morale of the troops overseas. During Game 1 of the 1918 World Series, the band played the SSB during the seventh-inning stretch. Cubs and Red Sox players faced the center field flag pole and stood at attention. The crowd, standing, sang along. Because of the overwhelming positive reaction, this was done for the next two games. When the series moved to Boston, the SSB was played before each game.
After the war, and after the SSB was made the national anthem in 1931, the song was played at special events like Opening Day, games played on national holidays and World Series games. During WWII the song was played before all games throughout the course of the war, again for troop morale. This established the playing of the SSB before many other sporting events.
This supports the fact that the SSB is played prior to sporting events for the benefit of our service men and women. Kneelers can claim all they want that it has nothing to do with veterans or active military personnel but that is simply not true, and this info proves that.
If you have questions or doubts, just look it up online.
I think many times people jump on the bandwagon before they know where the wagon is going. I will continue to support our troops here and anywhere in the world they happen to be serving, and I will continue to boycott sports leagues that dishonor those troops.
If you agree, please pass this on. If not, be glad you’re an American and those troops and veterans protected your right to disagree.
Kenny Mumma
Decatur Township
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