Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night encouraged sports fans to “take their sports back” by singing the national anthem at sporting events.
Hannity made his comments during his Thursday night show, airing a clip of NHL fans belting out the song during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“I want fans to take over every sport, loudly, proudly, unapologetically,” the “Hannity” host said while playing video of thousands of fans singing as Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals began on Wednesday night.
“I want this to become the norm… baseball, basketball, football, UFC, every sport,” Hannity added.
Singing the national anthem has become a point of political contention as activists such as Colin Kaepernick have opted to kneel as the anthem plays during sporting events or not acknowledge the anthem at all.
Last month, Olympian Gwen Berry sparked controversy after turning away from the American flag during the national anthem, saying the song does “not speak for Black Americans.”
“If you know your history, you know the full song of the national anthem. The third paragraph speaks to slaves in America — our blood being slain … all over the floor,” Berry said at the time, adding that she believes “it is disrespectful.”
On Thursday, Hannity shared his love for sports and his belief that the anthem serves to unite Americans.
“I’ve played sports my whole life,” he said. “You go and you have a group of people, all socioeconomic background, all races, all creeds, et cetera, everybody, united by a common passion, and that is a love of their home team. I think this is one way for fans to take their sports back and get rid of the politics that is poisoning what should be the most unifying moment with strangers of all backgrounds.”
Laura Ingraham, host of Fox’s “The Ingraham Angle,” agreed before kicking off her show.
“That’s America,” she told Hannity. “Everyone hating on the flag and ‘America’s awful, rotten, racist,’ that’s just not where most people are. I don’t care — I don’t care what they’re teaching in the schools,” she said referencing the political debate about critical race theory.
“That’s not what most people want to hear. That is awesome and I completely agree with you.”