Howard Bryant: Singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" is staged patriotism,

I don't know if you have seen this. Wow, just wow. Thoughts?

Fox News Insider --- ESPN Magazine's Howard Bryant wrote in a new column that cops singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" is "staged patriotism," arguing that it signals an "authoritarian shift at the ballpark." "Why don’t more athletes speak out on behalf of their communities?" Bryant wrote. "Perhaps more of them would if there wasn’t a chilling force looming over them."

This morning, the "Fox and Friends Weekend" co-hosts took exception with Bryant's column and his assertion that these performances of the national anthem are examples of systemic racism in America. "What is the problem here with expressing some patriotism?" Anna Kooiman asked, pointing out that this comes after recent attacks on the Pledge of Allegiance and the Declaration of Independence.

Liberty UnYielding.

Rather, I mention all of this as context for the latest rant by ESPN commentator Howard Bryant. In his article, titled “The Unspoken Truth,” Bryant laments the racist practice of having police — police, of all people! — sing the National Anthem before sporting events. He writes of what he terms an “authoritarian shift at the ballpark” and “the smothering effect that staged patriotism and cops singing the national anthem in a time of Ferguson have on player expression.”