Andra Day performed "Lift Every Voice and Sing," known as the Black national anthem, ahead of Super Bowl LVIII and received a rousing ovation from the fans at Allegiant Stadium.
Day was tapped to sing the song last month as part of the NFL’s pregame festivities. Additionally, Reba McEntire sang the national anthem and Post Malone did "America the Beautiful."
As Super Bowl Sunday arrived and Day sang, NFL fans on social media hurled criticism for the league having the Black national anthem performed. It started early in the day and continued.
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Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., wrote on X about a conversation he had with his wife about why they weren’t going to watch the Super Bowl.
"They’re desecrating America’s National Anthem by playing something called the ‘Black National Anthem,’" he wrote.
Rep. Mike Loychik, a Republican lawmaker in the Ohio House of Representatives, criticized the NFL.
"There’s no such thing as a black national anthem," he wrote on X. "We are all AMERICANS, united by our great and beautiful Star Spangled Banner. The Super Bowl is supposed to bring us together. "It’s a disgrace that the NFL decided to push the politics of racial division again."
Conservative pundit CJ Pearson wrote on X: "Before tonight’s Super Bowl, as a young black man and proud American, let me make myself clear: There is only ONE national anthem. As there is only ONE United States of America. And it’s for EVERYONE - white, black, yellow, and even maroon. The Left’s agenda of division isn’t just needless; it’s exhausting."
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"No such thing as a ‘Black National Anthem’ … The end," politician Graham Allen wrote.
Day performed at the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective event in Los Angeles and at Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy gala with Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, Keyshia Cole and Frederic Yonnet.
"If I’m here, I’m of the mindset that I’m called to be here," she told the Associated Press on Thursday. "It's a huge moment. I don't want to just do well, but I really want people to encounter the spirit."
Day told "CBS Mornings" on Friday she was hit with nerves as she was rehearsing the song. She hoped the song would allow people to "share in a really, really beautiful, spiritual moment together."
The NFL started to play the Black national anthem in the 2020 season following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. The incident started a wave of actions against racial injustice across the U.S.
The NAACP began to promote "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as the Black national anthem in 1917.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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