Vice President Kamala Harris During a 2016 interview she avoided directly answering whether she believed athletes should stand for the national anthem, instead giving an absurd response that is currently being shared on social media ahead of the general election. Getting feedback.
While serving as Attorney General of CaliforniaHarris joined PBS reporter David Nazar to discuss her Senate run and campaign platforms on issues such as criminal justice reform, the Black Lives Matter movement and the economy in California. During the discussion, Nazar pressed Harris on whether he believed athletes should stand for the national anthem.
“Should people stand for the national anthem?”. Nazar asked in the interview, which was published October 2016,
Harris’ response focused on the rights of Americans protected in the constitutionAnd it did not include a direct answer to whether athletes should stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner”.
“We are all equal and we should be treated equally. We have expressed those principles in our Constitution. And part of what we have decided is what constitutes a fair and impartial and great society in a democracy , a true democracy, is freedom of religion.” Freedom, rights, of association, freedom of association, the First Amendment,” he responded.
“So, it’s part of who we are as a country, and I will defend it fundamentally, which means we give people certain choices in this country.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign event at the Philip Chosky Theater on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Rebecca Droch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick became the first NFL players to take a knee During the national anthem in protest against police brutality and racism. The pattern of protest, which began in Harris’s San Francisco backyard, soon spread to other sports leagues and athletes.
like athletes Megan Rapinoe Kneeled for the national anthem before a football game in 2016, while Bruce Maxwell became the first Major League Baseball athlete to kneel during the national anthem in 2017.
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The protests turned violent in 2020 following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis during an interaction with police. Hundreds of athletes took a knee before the Games during the national anthem, while the NBA unveiled a court painted with “Black Lives Matter” amid social justice protests that year, and some Olympians took a knee during the Tokyo Games. .
The San Francisco 49ers, from left, Eli Herold, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid kneel on the sidelines during the national anthem before the Dallas Cowboys game at Levi’s Stadium on October 2, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Theron W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The protests were condemned by conservatives in the US, including former President Trump, who rebuked the athletes for politicizing the games.
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“I think it’s been terrible for basketball. Look at the basketball ratings. They’re down to very low numbers. People are angry about it. They don’t realize…they have Enough politics with people like meThey don’t need any more because they’re driving down… going up for the shot. They don’t need it. There’s also something unpleasant about the NBA in the way it was done. That’s why I think the NBA is in trouble. It is in big trouble. “There’s a bigger problem than they realize,” Trump said in 2020.
Former President Trump listens at a town hall campaign event at Macomb Community College on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Warren, Michigan. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump also posted on Twitter and then again that kneeling for the national anthem is “a sign of huge disrespect for our country and our flag,” adding that when he saw an athlete kneeling it was “game over” for him. Done”.
Harris’s revealing interview was criticized on social media this week, with OutKick founder Clay Travis saying Harris made a “long ramble of emptiness”.
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Fox News Digital contacted Harris campaign for comment on a 2016 interview, but did not immediately receive a response.
Harris defended athletes who knelt during the national anthem in 2017 after being elected senator, saying they should not be “threatened or intimidated” for protesting.
Harris said, “Let’s be honest that when Americans demand that their lives matter, or take a knee to draw attention to injustice, it is an expression of free speech protected by our Constitution, and they are threatened. Or not to be bullied.” An event in Atlanta, Hill reported at the time,
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“When we sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ we truly think of the brave men and women of all backgrounds who proudly defend the freedom of people they may never meet and such People who may never know their names When we sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ we also think of those marching in the streets demanding that the ideals of that flag represent them too. ,’ he added.
