THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
May 31, 2025  |  
0
 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support for Fantasy Sports and Betting Enthusiasts.
back  
topic
Fox News
Fox News
15 Feb 2023


Speaking with Fox News Digital, former Republican California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder and Republican Utah Congressman Burgess Owens, a former NFL player, expressed support for Lake and blasted the idea of there being a separate anthem based on skin color.

"I agree with Kari Lake. We have one national anthem, and it's THE national anthem," Elder told Fox in a statement. "I am as opposed to playing both anthems as I am to the term ‘African – America’ and to Black History Month."

PHOTO GOES VIRAL OF KARI LAKE REFUSING TO STAND DURING BLACK NATIONAL ANTHEM BEFORE SUPER BOWL

Former GOP Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake sits during the playing of the Black national anthem ahead of Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023.

Former GOP Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake sits during the playing of the Black national anthem ahead of Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023. (Benny Johnson)

"These things are divisive. They imply blacks are somehow separate and apart from American history, tradition and experience. It suggests continued victimization and oppression when antiblack racism in America has never been more insignificant," he added. "Blacks fought and died in every American war, including the Revolutionary War, in which a black man was the first casualty. We ARE American history."

Owens echoed Elder's sentiment, telling Fox the NFL was "working very hard" to divide Americans by having the Black national anthem played before games and that he would also only ever stand for the "Star-Spangled Banner."

BURGESS OWENS SLAMS SAN FRANCISCO'S $5 MILLION REPARATIONS PLAN: ‘CONDESCENDING, COUNTERPRODUCTIVE, ILLOGICAL’

"There is only one national anthem," Burgess said, adding that "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was a "remarkable" hymn, just not on the same level as the "Star-Spangled Banner." He went on to slam the NFL for pushing other social justice issues like defunding the police.

From left to right: Former Republican California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder, former Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, and Republican Utah Congressman Burgess Owens.

From left to right: Former Republican California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder, former Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, and Republican Utah Congressman Burgess Owens. (Getty Images)

"I will not stand for any other national anthem but our National Anthem, so I'm with Kari Lake," Burgess added. "I will not be part of dividing our country between Blacks and Whites. I will not do that. I will not be part of it. The NFL has ashamed themselves."

ANDY REID DID NOT ALLOW CHIEFS TO WATCH RIHANNA'S SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW, PATRICK MAHOMES SAYS

The Black national anthem, called "Lift Every Voice and Sing," was played prior to the "Star-Spangled Banner" ahead of Sunday's game, and sparked heated debate across social media.

According to the NAACP website, the song was written by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900 as a poem that turned into a hymn.

Chris Stapleton performs the national anthem during Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona.

Chris Stapleton performs the national anthem during Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

Lake told Fox on Monday that she was not in favor of a Black national anthem because the "Star-Spangled Banner" words "ring true for every single American Citizen regardless of their skin color."

Fox News Digital reached out to the NFL for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.