NFL Kickoff: Who Was Worst During National Anthem, Andra Day Or Brandon Marshall?
The NFL Kickoff is here, and social media is already in an uproar, asking, “Who was worst during the national anthem, Andra Day or Brandon Marshall?” Andra Day sang the national anthem just before kickoff, and all of the Denver Broncos stood at attention, or at least stood. Their opponents, the Carolina Panthers, all appeared to be standing. But Denver’s Brandon Marshall took a knee. This comes on the heels of San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem on Friday night, as previously reported by the Inquisitr. He says he did so in order to protest the injustice in our nation against African-American citizens. Citing civil rights as his motive for not standing, he told NFL Media he would’ve been wrong not to protest.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Then tonight, on the first game of the season, the big NFL kickoff, Andra Day took her place at the microphone to sing the national anthem. Soon after, cameras panned to show all of the Denver Broncos standing except Brandon Marshall, who knelt on one knee for the duration of the song. Andra Day, an up-and-coming singer from San Diego, sang her heart out for the NFL kickoff to some mixed reviews. She added in quite a few flourishes that were appreciated by some, while others felt she struggled through it in the middle. Some just didn’t approve of her rendition at all, leaving others to comment that they were wondering who was worst in the anthem, Day or Marshall.
Honestly, what Andra Day did to the national anthem was far more disrespectful than Brandon Marshall kneeling
— John (Parody)(Official) (@HeuristicLineup) September 9, 2016
Not only did Andra Day lift a lot of eyebrows at her rendition of the national anthem, but Brandon Marshall has gotten more than his share of comments for his refusal to stand during it. Fans can’t help but wonder who was worst. Many of Andra Day’s fans have said they love her and love her voice, but that they didn’t like the way she performed the national anthem.
I love Andra Day to death but not feeling her singing the National Anthem #NFLKickoff
— Cherise (@zakiyah4life18) September 9, 2016
Linebacker Brandon Marshall seen kneeling during the National Anthem#NFLKickoff pic.twitter.com/AqsgWGKj0v
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 9, 2016
It seems fans on social media are equally fired up and divided on both issues, and we’re just now in the second quarter. The Denver Broncos issued a statement, via James Palmer of the NFL Network.
“While we encourage members of our organization to stand during the National Anthem, we understand and respect it being a personal decision.”
Football fans are saying Marshall’s actions on the field were at least in part a show of solidarity with his friend and college teammate at Nevada, Colin Kaepernick. Marshall is actually the third player to kneel during the national anthem since Kaepernick announced in August that he would not be standing during the national anthem in order to protest social injustice against African-Americans and other minorities in the United States. Eric Reid, also of the San Francisco 49ers, joined Kaepernick in his protest, as did Jeremy Lane of the Seattle Seahawks. Lane sat on the bench last week when his team played against the Oakland Raiders. Marshall is the first player to kneel in protest in the regular NFL season, as the others took their stand by not standing in the preseason games, according to NBC Sports. More players are expected to join Marshall as the other NFL teams get their seasons started on Sunday.
Most social media users who are NFL fans didn’t show many signs that they were shocked at the protest, especially after all the talk surrounding Kaepernick’s protest. They did, however, seem surprised at the NFL’s choice to book Andra Day to sing the national anthem.
Andra Day a sell out. She was suppose to refuse to sing the song on national tv cause of the injustice done to our people.
— Perez Santiago (@Tone314) September 9, 2016
Brandon Marshall ended up leaving the game about halfway through the second quarter with an injury, says CBS News Denver. They took him to the locker room and evaluated him for a concussion, but he was eventually cleared to return to the game.
Between Andra Day’s version of the national anthem and Brandon Marshall’s protest, fans are left wondering which was worse. What do you think about the issue? Please weigh in on the comments section below.
[Photo by Brittney Williams/Shutterstock Images]
