You can’t watch sports at this Oklahoma bar because players kneel for national anthem

Calling it a sign of “disrespect” to the United States, the Starlite Club in Ardmore, Oklahoma, told patrons and the public it won’t show any games or events from sports leagues whose players kneel during the national anthem.

“Due to the disrespect shown towards our great country and the men and women that have sacrificed so much to defend and protect it.. [Starlite will] no longer offer viewing of any NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, soccer or any other related broadcast where players do not stand and Respect the National Anthem,” management announced Monday on Facebook.

Since the announcement, Starlite has drawn both criticism and support online.

“Love it. They don’t come on my tv at home either,” one supporter commented.

Out-of-state supporters weighed in as well.

“Don’t even live there and never been there but yalls message has reached Texas and we stand behind this in so many ways,” a commenter said.

Others weren’t happy with Starlite’s decision.

“That’s a lot of words for ‘I’m a racist,’” one person commented.

“Guess what, Starlite Bar: you’re getting boycotted. #blacklivesmatter,” another wrote.

Some wondered what the bar might show if most major sports wouldn’t be televised there.

“So y’all airing bowling and cricket?” another asked.

A movement that started with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the anthem in 2016 as a silent protest of police violence against Black Americans has inspired athletes in different leagues, playing different sports, to do the same.

Support grew further after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the wide-scale protests that followed.

Even NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who at first discouraged kneel-ins, has since changed his stance, apologizing in August for his and the league’s initial response to the symbolic protests, and to Kaepernick specifically.

“It is not about the flag. The message here, and what our players are doing, is being mischaracterized,” Goodell said, Sports Illustrated reported. “These are not people who are unpatriotic, they’re not disloyal ... What they were trying to do was exercise their right to bring attention to something that needs to get fixed.”

Many still oppose the kneeling, including President Donald Trump, who has condemned the protest as “disgraceful.”

An Oklahoma state representative threatened the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team in July, saying that if any players took a knee, the state should “reexamine” the team’s tax benefits, McClatchy News reported.

“By kneeling during the playing of the national anthem, the NBA and its players are showing disrespect to the American flag and all it stands for,” Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy, said in a statement.

This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 6:22 PM.