2020 NFL season kicks off with controversy during anthem
Posted September 11, 2020 6:34 am.
Last Updated September 11, 2020 6:41 am.
The NFL season kicked off Thursday night in Kansas City but most people are not talking about the game.
Controversy has already arisen over one team’s decision to sit out the national anthem along with the fans’ reaction to a pre-game ceremony.
One member of the Kansas City Chiefs kneeling during the anthem with his right fist in the air, Alex Okafor, his teammates all stood, their opponents the Houston Texans weren’t even on the field, and it was not one anthem — but two.
The 2020 season opener was proceeded by two anthems: The Star Spangled Banner, followed by a recording of Alicia Keys singing ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’, which is regarded as a black national anthem in the U.S.
Unified for change.#ItTakesAllOfUs pic.twitter.com/vwwzbUtjJv
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 11, 2020
The Kansas City Chiefs were on the field for both songs, but the Houston Texans were not.
Texans Executive Jack Easterby said the team opted to stay in the locker room so there would be “no misinterpretation of them celebrating one song and throwing shade on the other.”
Now both teams were on the field for a pre-game moment of silence, locking arms in recognition of the fight for equality — and it’s the sound of at least some fans in attendance that went viral last night
Some boos from the sparce crowd, there were 17,000 fans in attendance socially distant.
Spread throughout arrowhead stadium, there was a game after all this won by Kansas City 34-20.
