As adamant as Republicans are about not injecting politics into sports, they seem to do it more often than not. This week, they did it again and used the anthem as their rallying cry.
In Wisconsin, Republican state Rep. Tony Kurtz put forth a bill that would require the national anthem to be played before all sporting events at state venues and at arenas receiving taxpayer dollars.
“I strongly believe we need to play it, particularly where we’re at now in our country,” said Kurtz.
Kurtz’s bill is general in terms of where it could be instituted. So it could include events like youth soccer games and league softball games.
While there are no punishments for not playing the anthem, Kurtz has taken a hypocritical stance with his bill.
“I don’t want to make it enforceable,” said Kurtz. “I want people to voluntarily do that.”
He wants to put it in the people’s hands, yet he is forcing them to accept it and enforce it. That’s far from voluntary.
Kurtz’s actions stem directly from Mavericks’ owner Marc Cuban’s decision not to play the anthem at their home games. He said the bill is for those who disagree with Cuban.
But there are some who questioned and/or voted against Kurtz’s bill, including Assembly Democrats.
“As much as I respect our flag, as much as I believe in this country, as much as I believe in our freedom, I’m not sure it makes sense to mandate that it be played,” said Rep. Lisa Surbeck.
Rep. Surbeck expressed concern about the bill’s general terminology of “sporting event”. She felt it was too broad and could lead to confusion about where it might be played. That sentiment was echoed by officials in the Wisconsin Park and Recreation Association. They testified that they support playing the anthem but questioned whether it could realistically be implemented across all sporting events.
This forces politics into sports once again, and could ultimately lead to confrontations. What happens when some sing and others don’t? You can already visualize the verbal and physical clashes erupting between parents at youth games.
But Kurtz, a military veteran, remained unphased. He felt that signing the national anthem would help heal wounds and bring the country together.
“We are a very dysfunctional family at times, that’s for sure, but we are a family,” said Kurtz. “And what concerns me, once again to my core, is we are ripping ourselves apart internally in this country.”
Fellow Republicans rallied to his side and passed the bill 74-22 under the guise of patriotism. The bill now heads to the State Senate.
“Can you teach patriotism?” asked state Rep. Janel Brandtjen. “Yes, by singing this song you can and you can have the conversations about how great this country is.”
Yet this is hypocritical at its core. You want to force patriotism on people by requiring them to sing a song. Healing a major divide by forcing something on them won’t heal, especially at a time when songs, verses, and history are being questioned as to their racist undertones and/or origins.
This is similar to the situation at the University of Texas. After football players expressed concerns over the racist origins of the school song “The Eyes of Texas”, the alumni backlash was swift. Some threatened to withhold financial contributions and others went all out racist.
It’s interesting that individuals like Rep. Brandtjen feel that singing a song and having conversations about how great America is can be a wonder cure, while sweeping honest, educated conversations about America’s real history under the rug.
So propose laws that prohibit critical race theory from being taught in classrooms. But by all means, sing to clear the air and erase history.
We’re sure that will work.
