Sports anchor Dale Hansen has won fans far beyond his Dallas broadcasting area for his stirring commentary.
And he did it again in a takedown of President Donald Trump and anyone else who doesn’t recognize the right of NFL players to protest during the national anthem.
Demonstrations by players capped a tumultuous week sparked by the president’s stating that league owners should fire any “son of a bitch” who doesn’t stand during performances of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The protests took root last year when then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand to draw attention to police brutality and racial injustice.
“The young, black athletes are not disrespecting America or the military by taking a knee during the anthem,” WFAA reporter Hansen said Monday. “They are respecting the best thing about America. It’s a dog whistle to the racists among us to say otherwise.”
He added later:
Maybe we all need to read the Constitution again. There has never been a better use of pen to paper. Our forefathers made freedom of speech the First Amendment. They listed 10, and not one of them says you have to stand during the anthem.
And I think those men respected the country they fought for and founded — a great deal more than the self-proclaimed patriots who are simply hypocrites, because they want to deny the basic freedom of this great country.
Watch the whole speech above.
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