ESPN Announces They Will Not Air The National Anthem During ‘Monday Night Football’
ESPN president Jimmy Pataro announced Friday that the sports network will not broadcast the playing of the national anthem prior to games aired on Monday Night Football this season. Axios reports that he explained that it has become a political issue and that ESPN doesn’t wish to become involved in politics that don’t affect their coverage of sports.
“We generally have not broadcasted the anthem and I don’t think that will change this year. Our plan going into this year is to not broadcast the anthem… again, that could change. It’s unpredictable what could happen in the world but as of now, we’re not. It’s not our job to cover politics, purely, but we’ll cover the intersection of sports & politics. When something happens, when the Eagles disinvited from White House, or when someone takes a knee, if we think newsworthy were going to cover it. We have communicated that back to the NFL.”
As Pataro stated, this isn’t a new policy for ESPN, a fact that was reiterated by the network’s Senior Vice President for Event & Studio Production Stephanie Druley. Sports Illustrated reports that she stated that fans tell them that they enjoy the game and that the game is what they really care about, so that is what the network will focus on. She clarified that the network broadcast the national anthem only three times last year, and that was only because a news event was associated with the playing of the event on those occasions. One time was when a moment of silence was held in recognition of a hurricane, another was when there was a moment of silence for the victims of the Las Vegas shooting, and the third was for the Dallas vs. Arizona game.
.@espn president says network will not air national anthem on 'Monday Night Football' https://t.co/dddNGb1ntH
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 17, 2018
In May, NFL owners unanimously voted to impose a new policy related to player behavior during the anthem. It requires all players to remain standing while the national anthem is being played if they are on the football field. Players have the option of remaining in the locker room during the national anthem if they don’t wish to stand while it’s being played. Those violating the policy would face a fine. The policy was not well received, and the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) filed a grievance, objecting to its implementation. A new policy has not yet been agreed upon, and the NFL has not indicated whether they intend for a new one to be in place before the new season begins on September 6.
