A hockey player from Canada is taking heat for vowing to never kneel for the national anthem after a journalist reported the athlete’s comments.
Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban promised to never take a knee during the national anthem that plays before hockey games while he was performing at a comedy club in Nashville, Tenn., to benefit charity.
Eyewitnesses at the event reported the comments to Yahoo Sports blogger Greg Wyshynski, who published the comments Wednesday with noted disappointment that the African American Subban is not following NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s lead.
“Sorry if this let you down, because you believed an outspoken player like Subban would stand in solidarity with other pro athletes, or would symbolically share your political beliefs through his actions,” Wyshynski wrote in his post.
One of the eyewitnesses at the comedy appearance said Subban “mentioned just being pumped up by crowd and excited to support USA even as a Canadian,” Wyshynski reported. Another attendee at the fundraiser said Subban’s comedy set “ended with a tense promise from PK that despite his previous dancing antics during the national anthem, he would NEVER kneel during the national anthem, followed by a long rant about his ‘respect’ for the American flag.”
The Canadian Press confirmed that Subban made the promise to never kneel during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner at the beginning of hockey games.
The push for players to kneel during the national anthem in protest to police brutality upon African Americans heated up again this month when President Donald Trump called for those who kneel to be fired from their NFL teams. Trump also connected the kneeling protestors with the NBA when he said he had rescinded an invitation for the Golden State Warriors to come to the White House.
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