President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged his supporters to sign a petition to pressure ESPN to show the national anthem during “Monday Night Football” broadcasts.
In an email sent on behalf of the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, Trump called the network’s announcement last week a “spineless surrender to the politically correct liberal mob.”
"TELL ESPN: PLAY AMERICA’S ANTHEM!" pic.twitter.com/CnANRsEHVm
— Eric Hananoki (@ehananoki) August 22, 2018
Speaking to reporters during ESPN’s annual football media day, Jimmy Pitaro, the network’s president, said the national anthem would not be showed, before acknowledging, “there could be changes.”
“It’s somewhat unpredictable what’s going to happen in the world but as of now our plan now is to not broadcast the anthem. We have communicated that back to the NFL,” Pitaro said. “They have not asked but we proactively just as a courtesy and as good partners let them know what our plans are.”
ESPN Will Not Air the National Anthem Prior to Monday Night Football Games https://t.co/PejLw839mR
— SportsGossip.com (@sportsgossip) August 17, 2018
FOX plans to only show the anthem during “special broadcasts” such as Veteran’s Day or Thanksgiving and during the playoffs, while NBC Sports broadcasts plans are still undetermined. This is getting out of hand.