The Sacramento Kings played their first game at their brand new arena, the Golden 1 Center, on Monday night. Like any arena opening, the whole night was meant to symbolize a leap into the future, into a new era for the Kings. But right off the bat, we got a reminder of the present times in which we’re living when the singer of the national anthem nodded to Colin Kaepernick by taking a knee.
Woman singing national anthem at @SacramentoKings games takes a knee while singing "Land of the free and the home of the brave." @kcranews pic.twitter.com/ddaUjZO521
— Dana Griffin (@DanaGriffinNBC) October 11, 2016
The singer, Leah Tysse, happily took ownership of the gesture in a tweet later on:
https://twitter.com/LeahTysse/status/785686903978807296
We’re on record all over this website in support of Kaepernick’s protest and the wave of political engagement from athletes which it’s inspired, but here is where we have to draw the line. Protesting the anthem when it’s forcefully played for you ahead of your game is one thing, but Tysse volunteered to sing the anthem. If she has problems with what the song represents, it makes much more sense to decline (and hell, why not do so publicly?) than to do it and then protest. Her agreement undercuts her own message.
Still, it might have been worth it if that spot in the distance at which Tysse was staring was the owner’s box. Wouldn’t it be cool if she did it just to see the look on everyone’s face when she took the knee? If it was for that, we respect the move, Leah.