NFL SLAMMED For Having Actress & Singer Sheryl Lee Ralph Sing 'Black National Anthem' Before Super Bowl 2023
The NFL came under fire this weekend after the league decided to include a performance of the “Black National Anthem” right before Super Bowl 2023 kicked off on Sunday night, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a surprising development to come after it was announced Lift Every Voice and Sing would be performed by actress and singer Sheryl Lee Ralph before Super Bowl LVII kicked off in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday night, angry viewers rushed to social media to slam the NFL for the decision.
Even more surprising is the fact that this is not the first time the song – dubbed the unofficial “Black National Anthem” – was performed before a Super Bowl.
In fact, this was the third year in a row Lift Every Voice and Sing was performed just before kickoff – although it was the first time the anthem was performed on the actual field.
Previously, Alicia Keys performed the anthem in 2021 followed by Mary Mary one year later in 2022.
“123 years ago today Lift Every Voice and Sing was performed publicly for the 1st time,” Ralph tweeted on Sunday morning just hours before the Super Bowl started. “Today I will sing it for the 1st time as part of the [Super Bowl] pre-game show in the stadium!”
But no sooner did Ralph – famous for her role on the hit show Abbott Elementary – announce she would be performing Lift Every Voice and Sing that outraged Super Bowl viewers criticized the decision.
“The Black National Anthem is the Star Spangled Banner. The White National Anthem is the Star Spangled Banner. The Mixed National Anthem is the Star Spangled Banner,” wrote Florida GOP politician Lavern Spicer. “If you live in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, your National Anthem is the Star Spangled Banner.”
“America only has ONE NATIONAL ANTHEM,” echoed controversial GOP House Rep. Lauren Boebert. “Why is the NFL trying to divide us by playing multiple?”
“Do football, not wokeness,” Boebert added.
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But while politicians like Spicer and Boebert slammed the NFL for the inclusion of Lift Every Voice and Sing before Super Bowl LVII, other viewers spoke out to welcome the anthem and Ralph’s performance of it.
“If you have a problem with the Black National Anthem then you are one of the reasons it's being sung,” one Twitter user replied to Spicer and Boebert.