A Wisconsin lawmaker introduced a bill to require the playing of the national anthem at all publicly funded sporting events throughout the state.
“Hearing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at a sporting event reminds us that despite our differences, we have something in common — we are Americans,” state Sen. Patrick Testin, a Republican, said in a Thursday statement. “This tradition traces its roots back more than a century – even pre-dating the song’s adoption as the national anthem. It’s a practice that unites us, and I believe it’s worth preserving.”
Testin’s bill, dubbed the Star Spangled Banner Act, states, “No sporting event may be held in a venue the construction of which was financed at least in part from moneys contributed by a state agency or local governmental unit unless the event is preceded by the playing or singing of the national anthem.”
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Questions have been raised about whether this mandate will apply equally to both small pick-up sporting games and large-scale events. However, the bill carries no outlined penalties pertaining to violations.
Testin, the vice-chairman of the state’s Committee on Economic Development, Commerce and Trade, made his announcement approximately two weeks after businessman Mark Cuban ordered his NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks, to stop playing the national anthem before games. The NBA quickly rebuked him and ordered the tycoon to continue to play “The Star-Spangled Banner” at events per “longstanding league policy.”
“We respect and always have respected the passion people have for the anthem and our country. I have always stood for the anthem with the hand over my heart — no matter where I hear it played,” Cuban said at the time. “But we also hear the voices of those who do not feel the anthem represents them. We feel they also need to be respected and heard, because they have not been heard. The hope is that those who feel passionate about the anthem being played will be just as passionate in listening to those who do not feel it represents them.”
Around the same time Cuban’s order became public, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick vowed to make the “Star Spangled Banner Protection Act” a top legislative priority.
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“It is hard to believe this could happen in Texas, but Mark Cuban’s actions of yesterday made it clear that we must specify that in Texas we play the national anthem before all major events,” Patrick said in a statement. “In this time when so many things divide us, sports are one thing that bring us together — right, left, Black, white and brown. This legislation already enjoys broad support. I am certain it will pass, and the Star Spangled Banner will not be threatened in the Lone Star State again.”
