ESPN is reversing course and will air the national anthem ahead of its Monday Night Football broadcast in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas.
The network had decided before the season not to air the national anthem with the exception of the MNF season opener on the 16th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
ESPN also aired the national anthem before last Monday's game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys; it was in the aftermath of player protests across the league in response to President Donald Trump's criticism of "son of a bitch" players who should be fired for not standing for the anthem.
The Washington Post reports:
Although "MNF" has shown the anthem in previous seasons, the production team decided to make a change this year, even as the idea of protests were looming, to use the time to highlight matchups and story lines, a network source said. The network did not carry the anthem preceding the Sept. 18 game between the Detroit Lions and New York Giants.
ESPN had promised to "do our due diligence" as far as protests and coverage were concerned, producer Jay Rothman said last month and clearly the change of heart Monday is part of that.
ESPN's practice is in keeping with those of Fox and CBS, which do not carry the anthem before their 1 p.m. EDT regional telecasts. An exception was made before the games of Week 3, with protests everywhere, by Fox, CBS, NBC, the NFL Network, and DirecTV. But on Sunday, Fox reverted back to form, carrying only the anthem (and "God Save the Queen") before the 9:30 a.m. game in London. The New Orleans Saints took a knee, then rose and linked arms for the anthem as three Miami Dolphins players remained kneeling. Fox came back from commercial as the Saints were getting to their feet and at halftime it showed video of Saints Coach Sean Payton taking a knee and linking arms with his players.
At least 58 people were killed and more than 500 were injured Sunday night when a gunman opened fire from his Mandalay Bay hotel room on people attending a country music concert in Las Vegas. In remarks at the White House the next day, Trump called the massacre an "act of pure evil."
After widespread protests and acts of solidarity during NFL's Week 3 games in the wake of Trump's derogatory comments about the players, this past Sunday's games featured relatively few gestures from players during the anthem.
Monday night's game features the Washington Redskins visiting the Kansas City Chiefs.