ESPN Officially Changed Its Decision On The National Anthem
01/05/2025 08:51 AM
ESPN appears to have officially changed its decision on the national anthem during football season.
Earlier in the College Football Playoff, ESPN controversially did not show the pregame national anthem at the Sugar Bowl, between No. 2 Georgia and No. 7 Notre Dame. The Sugar Bowl, played in New Orleans, was postponed for a day, following the devastating terror attack on Bourbon Street. A 42-year-old U.S. citizen drove a white truck onto the crowded New Orleans street, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more. Sugar Bowl officials opted to postpone the game, which was set for New Year's Day, for about 24 hours.
Georgia and Notre Dame kicked off at the Caesar's Superdome on Thursday afternoon. However, ESPN questionably did not show the pregame national anthem, sparking outrage on social media.
College football fans were not happy.
"Would love to know why ESPN didn't think to broadcast any of the pregame festivities after what happened yesterday. Really disappointing," one fan wrote.
"I wanted to to see the anthem and the moment of silence for the victims. I rewound the broadcast thinking I'd missed it. ESPN and Disney are disgusting," one fan added.
"Wish the Disney ABC ESPN conglomerate would've showed the national anthem that would've been nice," one fan added.
A couple of days later, ESPN appears to have learned its lesson. The network showed the pregame national anthem prior to kickoff between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens.
NFL fans were quick to react.
"Wow! ESPN actually played The National Anthem over the air? Shocking," one fan wrote.
"Funny how abc/espn had time to play the National Anthem for this game but totally ignored it for the Sugar Bowl after a terrorist attack," one fan added.
"ABC/ ESPN are honoring President Carter and the tragedy in Now Orleans prior to the Ravens Browns game plus showing the singing of the national anthem. The deserved criticism had some impact," one fan added.
The Ravens went on to beat the Browns, 35-10, to wrap up the 2024 NFL regular season. Baltimore is off to the playoffs, while Cleveland is going home.
