Stephen A. Smith, after months of tacking right on his political hot takes in support of Donald Trump, came out forcefully Thursday against segments of MAGA nation who’ve called for a boycott of the Super Bowl over a scheduled performance of the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
The song has been a staple of recent Super Bowl pregame festivities but in recent years has become controversial with conservatives who claim the inspirational anthem celebrating Black pride is somehow divisive.
And with the president attending the big game, some of his supporters appear concerned his delicate sensibilities might be offended by a song that recognizes the long, difficult road traveled by Black Americans.
Grammy Award-winning singer Ledisi will perform “Lift Every Voice” on Sunday, shortly before Jon Batiste sings the National Anthem.
Online, some fans voiced their displeasure with the NFL’s live pregame playlist.
“As if we needed another reason to not watch the damn game,” wrote one.
Added another: “No other sports league tries to force a “Black National Anthem” down peoples’ throats.”
‘I haven’t watched football ever since they started disrespecting the National Anthem. And there is no such thing as a Black National Anthem,” wrote a third.
In an interview with Daily Mail, Smith said, “I understand that society can be very polarizing at times, but the reality is that segments of our population have a right to be prideful about their culture, their people.”
“Everybody has a right to feel the way that they feel… if you’re not doing harm to anybody else, leave it be.”
Much of the opposition to the song appears performative, designed to curry favor with the president and his base.
At Super Bowl LVII in 2023, Trump loyalist Kari Lake, who lost bids to become Arizona’s governor and, most recently, one of the state’s two senators, made headlines when she refused to stand for “Lift Every Voice.”
On social media after the game, she wrote: ‘I’m just here for THE National Anthem.”
And following last year’s performance, former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz thundered, ‘They’re desecrating America’s National Anthem by playing something called the “Black National Anthem.”
The veteran sports commentator said the backlash contradicts American values.
“That’s not what America is about,” he said. “Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to think, to be a free thinker, that’s what makes America special, and that’s what we have to remember.”
Smith accused critics of hypocrisy, noting that “when the Jewish community tells us what they’re passionate about and what they care about, non-Jewish people don’t try to tell them how to feel.”
“Well, Black people have a right to feel the way that they feel – about whether there’s a Black national anthem or anything… as long as it’s not something that’s harmful to America, the nation itself or to any segment of our population, what’s the problem?” he asked.
Trump has yet to address the song or its meaning. It’s unclear if he even knows there is a Black national anthem.
The president has a complicated relationship with the NFL. Owners blocked his 2014 bid to purchase the Buffalo Bills. And in 2016, Trump told former quarterback Colin Kaepernick to “find a country that works better for him” after the 49ers star began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality.
Now, some NFL players are celebrating on-field success by doing ‘the “Trump dance.”
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