Kari Lake condemned the National Football League (NFL) on Thursday night for its decision to have a youth choir group perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which is colloquially known as the Black National Anthem, prior to the start of the first game of the season.
Lake is a former Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arizona who has remained in the news for her continued efforts to fight her November 2022 defeat to Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs. She is also a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump and has echoed his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
During the pregame ceremonies for Thursday's NFL matchup between the hosting Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions, the Kansas City Boys Choir and Kansas City Girls Choir sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing" before singer-songwriter Natalie Grant performed "The Star-Spangled Banner."
"I hear the @NFL is still trying to force this divisive nonsense down America's throats. I won't stand for it. Literally," Lake wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "America has only ONE National Anthem and that Anthem is color blind."
When reached for comment, a representative for Lake provided a statement from the former gubernatorial candidate.
"I'm against a 'black National Anthem' for the same reason I am against a 'white National Anthem,' a 'gay National Anthem,' a 'straight National Anthem,' a 'Jewish National Anthem,' a 'Christian National Anthem,' and so on," Lake told Newsweek in the written statement.
She added, "We are ONE NATION, under God, Francis Scott Key's words ring true for every single American Citizen regardless of their skin color."
Thursday night was not the first time Lake has made it known that she objects to the Black National Anthem. A photograph of her sitting during a performance of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by Sheryl Lee Ralph before this year's Super Bowl in February went viral following the game.
Lake included the viral photo of her not getting up for Ralph's performance in her Thursday post.
I hear the @NFL is still trying to force this divisive nonsense down America's throats.
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) September 8, 2023
I won't stand for it. Literally.
America has only ONE National Anthem and that Anthem is color blind. https://t.co/fFSHcp7sP1
The NFL first began featuring "Lift Every Voice and Sing" during pregames following the nationwide protests in 2020 led by the Black Lives Matter movement that called for an end to police brutality against Black Americans. But Ralph's performance at Super Bowl LVII perhaps got more attention than other renditions up to that point.
Following Ralph's performance, a debate emerged on social media about the inclusion of the song at sporting events, and other high-profile conservatives joined Lake in making it known they were against multiple national anthems. Among those expressing this sentiment was Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, who accused the NFL of trying to "divide" viewers.
"America only has ONE NATIONAL ANTHEM. Why is the NFL trying to divide us by playing multiple!? Do football, not wokeness," Boebert tweeted at the time.
Update 09/08/23 12:12 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include comment from Lake which was obtained after the story was originally published.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more
