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The Sports Song of Patriotism It is all over the papers, the television news and radio talk shows. Toni Smith, a Manhattanville College senior and basketball player, has been turning her back on the flag during the playing of the national anthem for the past several weeks. As America gears up for a war, the protest against her protest has been growing. Last weekend, Smith was confronted on the court by a Vietnam veteran toting an American flag that he shoved in her face. Surprisingly and admirably, Manhattanville College authorities have defended Smith’s right to do what she is doing, although one suspects that as the pressures mount it will become more difficult for them to do so. As for Smith, she calmly explained that she has been doing this all season and that it is a form of protest: "A lot of people blindly stand up and salute the flag, but I feel that blindly facing the flag hurts more people. There are a lot of inequities in this country, and these are issues that needed to be acknowledged. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and our priorities are elsewhere." As she experiences the firestorm of publicity that only the American media machine can unleash, Smith will pay severely for her beliefs. She won’t be the first. In 1996, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf of the Denver Nuggets refused to stand for the anthem. Once that attracted public notice, he was booed by NBA crowds across the country. Bowing under public pressure, the NBA suspended him although the suspension only lasted one game. A settlement was worked out in which Abdul-Rauf agreed to stand for the anthem but vowed to say a prayer while the anthem was being played. He said he found standing for the anthem unacceptable to his religious beliefs and he said that the flag was a symbol of oppression and that the country had a long history of tyranny. The similarities to Smith’s views are striking although she is not claiming any religious reason for her actions. Looking at this controversy, it might be useful to review the history of playing the national anthem at athletic events. First, it is important to note that there was no official national anthem until the 1930s. During World War I, however, President Wilson declared the "Star Spangled Banner" the unofficial national anthem, and the intense display of public patriotism during this period led to it being played on many public occasions. It is generally accepted that its first appearance during a sporting event was the 1918 World Series. To demonstrate major league patriotism, baseball teams had the players march in formation during pre-game military drills while carrying bats on their shoulders. During the seventh-inning stretch of game one, when the band spontaneously began to play the "Star Spangled Banner," the Cubs and Red Sox players stood at attention facing the centerfield flag pole. The crowd sang along and applauded when the singing ended. Given this reaction in Chicago, the "Star Spangled Banner" was played during the seventh-inning stretch for the next two games. When the Series moved to Boston, the great theatrical Red Sox owner Harry Frazee pumped up the show biz: He brought in a band, and the song was played before the start of each game. When the war ended, the song continued to be played, but only on special occasions when a band was present — such as opening day, special holidays or the World Series. On opening day in Washington, D.C., it was played before the president of the United States, and local politicians in other cities learned to participate in the events. The "Star Spangled Banner" was finally declared the official national anthem in 1931. Even though by 1934 some ballparks had public address systems, it still was not played at every game. The coming of war in the late 1930s changed all of that. During the 1939-40 National Hockey League season, the Canadian anthem was played at games in Canadian cities as Canada was already at war. Then the practice spread to Madison Square Garden and from there it was transferred from hockey to baseball. In 1940, with the fighting underway in earnest and America becoming more conscious of the possibility of war, there was increased talk of the need to hear the national anthem before all baseball games. This was suggested by The Sporting News in June, while at the same time the president of the International League called for the anthem to be played in U.S. league cities, as was already being done in Canadian cities. By 1941, the practice of playing the anthem before sporting events had achieved nearly universal status. At some games the pledge of allegiance was added, and, by 1941, "I Am an American Day" became a feature at major league parks. It would be nice to say that all of this was due to pure patriotic expression, but of course much of it was created by PR-conscious owners who wanted to make sure that no one would question the patriotism of athletes who played games during World War II while others went off to serve their country. Four years of war, followed by the Cold War and the emergence of the American Empire, solidified the practice and made it into a national ritual. In recent years, the national anthem has lost its patriotic air in most sports venues. It has become an occasion for entertainers to display their talents or lack thereof, fans to create new cheers, and the networks to run commercials. Its symbolic significance has been overshadowed by commercial purposes and public indifference, but it can still rattle the Whether the practice should continue is doubtful as sporting events have little inherent relationship to patriotism. To try to change this custom in the middle of war fever would, of course, be impossible. Richard C. Crepeau is a professor of history at the University of Central Florida in Orlando
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