Cheers and applause for the singer, but only contempt for the song
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In a reaction that is becoming increasingly common since U.S. President Donald Trump’s Saturday announcement of sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods, visiting U.S. sports teams were roundly booed during the playing of the American national anthem on Sunday night.
In Vancouver, the Canucks hosted the Detroit Red Wings in an NHL match-up, with a performance of the Canadian and U.S. anthems by B.C.-based Agasha Mutesasira. There were cheers for the performance but boos for The Star Spangled Banner.
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Boos for the US anthem, cheers for the singer. pic.twitter.com/sq23aRGMvJ
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Asked about the reaction by the Detroit Free Press, Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said he preferred to keep his opinions on the politics of the situation private.
“I’m going to keep those to myself and separate that from what we’re all here for,” he said, “which was the entertainment value of a hockey game.”
Detroit is in a unique position in the burgeoning trade war, since its reliance on the auto industry means it will feel the measures more than some other U.S. cities.
The Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce told the Free Press on Saturday the tariffs “will have detrimental effects to our automotive industry in Michigan, the Great Lakes Region and across the continent.”
United Autoworkers president Shawn Fain added in a statement that Trump’s move was the wrong way to use tariffs. “We do not support using factory workers as pawns in a fight over immigration or drug policy,” he said, adding that Trump’s “anti-worker policy … leaves American workers facing worsening wages and working conditions even while the administration takes aggressive tariff action.”
It was a similar situation at an NBA game Sunday between the Toronto Raptors and the visiting Los Angeles Clippers. Many fans could be heard booing as the U.S. anthem was sung. The noise changed to a mix of boos and applause at the end of the song — again, the applause presumably being for the singer — before loud cheers and applause greeted her rendition of O Canada.
The US anthem gets booed at the Raptors game. Never seen this before. pic.twitter.com/HDipiMs9fW
Raptors forward Chris Boucher, who is a Canadian citizen, told the Associated Press that he’d never seen a reaction like that to the anthem.
“No, no, no,” he said. “But have you ever seen us getting taxed like that?”
Booing the U.S. anthem is not unheard of at sporting events in Canada, but it is relatively rare. The Associated Press reports that it happened in the early 2000s as a way to protest the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Americans booing the Canadian anthem is also rare, but it has been known to happen during the NHL playoffs when emotions are high.
There was also an incident in 1993 when the crowd at Yankee Stadium booed O Canada, an act described by a local writer as “a group obscenity.” He added: “One Yankee official closed his eyes, shook his head and said, ‘We were totally embarrassed’ by the incident.” The visiting Toronto Blue Jays didn’t even have any Canadian players on the roster at the time.
The Raptors’ next home game is Tuesday night against the New York Knicks. In the NHL, the lone game Monday is between the Ottawa Senators and the Predators in Nashville. Tuesday sees a busy lineup, with 14 games and a number of Canadian-U.S. match-ups.
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