(Getty Images)
Chris Brown refused to stand during the National Anthem on September 11. The singer, who participated in the annual Power 106 Celebrity Basketball Game in Los Angeles, sat on the court through the Star-Spangled Banner, despite Tank, who sang the National Anthem, asking everyone attending to respect the memories of those who tragically died on 9/11. Watch the video below.
Tank said, “I understand everybody is exercising their right to stand or to sit… But in the wake of 9/11, please understand and respect the fact that real men, women, and children lost their lives for this very thing we are able to stand for today.” But Brown, who made no mentioned of the 9/11 tragedy on social media, ignored Tank’s plea to sing the National Anthem and instead laughed and made faces.
Brown, of course, is following a number of professional athletes who have joined San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in not standing up for the National Anthem. The NFL player previously explained that he refused to “show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” And while Brown exercised his constitutional right not to stand for the Star-Spangled Banner, others used their freedom of expression to tear into the singer on the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
One Twitter user wrote, “Breaking news everyone. Chris Brown too tired to stand for national anthem, due to exhaustion from beating women.” Another felt the singer “out-douche[d] the NFL with 9/11 national anthem protest,” while a third user tweeted, “Because he has principals…like beating his girlfriend and stuff… #neverforget.”
Check out the video below of Chris Brown sitting down through the National Anthem on September 11.
