We Don’t Want No Smoke: ESPN Will Not Televise National Anthem During 2018 Season

August 18, 2018

Image via Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

ESPN Won’t Air National Anthem On NFL Broadcasts

ESPN has decided that they will not be stepping on the land mine that has become the commandeered protest of police brutality against people of color. The network announced that they will not air the national anthem during their 2018 broadcasts of NFL games.

1/2 ESPN will not be broadcasting the National Anthem on Monday nights this year.

"We generally have not broadcasted the anthem and I don't think that will change this year. Our plan going into this year is to not broadcast the anthem …

— Sara Fischer (@sarafischer) August 17, 2018

2/2 " … again that could change. It's unpredictable what could happen in the world but as of now, we're not. We have communicated that back to the NF. They have not asked but as courtesy and good partners we have let them know what our plans are." – ESPN Pres. Jimmy Pitaro

— Sara Fischer (@sarafischer) August 17, 2018

Last week we reported that Miami Dolphins wideout Kenny Stills took a knee during the anthem, this week he told the Palm Beach Post what the NFL would have to do in order for him to stand:

“What would it take? It would take a lot,” he said. “But I think a good first step for us as a league would be acknowledging what they’re doing to Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid. You can’t say as a league that you support the players and the protest and then blackball the players that initially started the protest.”

Do you plan on watching the NFL this season in support of the Black players who are speaking up, or are you going to boycott the NFL for their janky polices and malpractice?