In an unearthed 2016 interview, Vice President Kamala Harris avoided a direct answer on whether she thought athletes should stand for the national anthem, instead giving a rambling response and saying that she is currently considering the general election. He has previously received backlash on social media.
While serving as California's attorney general, Harris worked with PBS reporter David Nazar on running her Senate race and campaign platform on issues such as criminal justice reform, the Black Lives Matter movement, and California's economy. We talked. During the debate, Nazar asked Harris whether he thought players should stand for the national anthem.
“Should people stand for the national anthem?” Nazar asked in an interview. October 2016.
Harris' response focused on Americans' constitutionally protected rights and did not directly address whether athletes should support the Star-Spangled Banner.
“We all can and should be treated equally. We have made these principles clear in our constitution, and part of what we have decided is to ensure fairness in our democracy. “What makes for a just and noble society, a true democracy, is freedom of religion. Freedom of association, rights, freedom of association, the First Amendment,” she answered.
“So I'm a big advocate of that, that it's a part of our country, and that we give people a certain amount of choice in this country.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign event at the Philip Chosky Theater on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Rebecca Droke/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick became the first NFL player to kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racism. The form of protest that began in Harris' backyard in San Francisco quickly spread to other sports leagues and athletes.
athletes such as Megan Rapinoe In 2016, he knelt for the national anthem before a football game, and in 2017, Bruce Maxwell became the first major league player to kneel during the national anthem.
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Protests reached a climax in 2020 following the death of George Floyd during an encounter with police in Minneapolis. Many players knelt during the national anthem before games that year; amid social justice protests that year, the NBA unveiled courts emblazoned with “Black Lives Matter”; The Olympian fell to his knees.
Eli Harold, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers kneel on the sideline during the national anthem before a Dallas Cowboys game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California on October 2, 2016. Lead. (Shearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The protests were condemned by U.S. conservatives, including former President Trump, who stripped the players of their rights for politicizing the game.
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“I think it's been terrible for basketball. Look at the ratings for basketball. They're down to very low numbers. People are angry about it. They don't realize. … They're like me. They don't have enough political connections with these guys. They don't need more because they're pushing… They don't need it. I think the NBA is in a terrible situation when it comes to how things are done. It’s a bigger problem than they understand,” President Trump said in 2020.
Former President Trump listens during a town hall campaign event at Macomb Community College on Friday, September 27, 2024, in Warren, Michigan. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Trump also tweeted to X at the time that kneeling during the national anthem was “a sign of great disrespect for our country and flag,” adding that if he caught a player kneeling, “the game was over” for him. said.
Harris' unearthed interview was criticized on social media this week, with Outkick founder Clay Travis saying Harris delivered “a long, empty mixture”.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment about the 2016 interview, but did not immediately receive a response.
After being elected to the Senate in 2017, Harris defended athletes who kneeled during the national anthem, saying they should not be “intimidated or bullied” for their protests.
“When Americans demand recognition that their lives matter or take a knee to call attention to injustice, they are violating their constitutionally protected free speech rights,” Harris said in a speech. Let's speak the truth, which is expression and should not be intimidated or bullied.” At an event in Atlanta The Hill reported at the time.
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“When we sing 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' we naturally think of the brave men and women of all backgrounds who proudly defend the freedoms of people we will never meet and whose names we will never know. “When we raise the Spangled Banner, we also think of the people marching through the streets demanding that the ideals of that flag represent them,” she added. .
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