Texas lawmakers voted to approve a bill that would withhold funding from state sports teams that choose not to play the national anthem before athletic events, according to The Hill. Senate Bill 4, which is also called the “Star-Spangled Banner Protection Act,” states that pro sports teams would forfeit the opportunity to further receive money from the state and could be required to “repay any money paid to the team by this state or any governmental entity.” The bill was passed by the house and will now seek approval from Gov. Greg Abbott.
State Rep. Gene Wu is one of the legislators who spoke out against the bill. “Once again, we’re carrying legislation that is openly and aggressively unconstitutional,” Wu said. State Rep. Dustin Burrows supports the bill and pushed back against those who argued the move violates free speech.
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“It’s very simple. If they do not want to play the national anthem, they don’t take the tax dollars,” Burrows said as reported by the Texas Tribune. “If we’re going to go ahead and subsidize with hard-earned American dollars the sporting facilities and the teams in the different ways that I think is articulated in this bill, then this would apply.”
In February, the Dallas Mavericks took heat after team owner Mark Cuban made the decision to stop playing the national anthem before games. “We respect and always have respected the passion people have for the anthem and our country,” Cuban said at the time. “I have always stood for the anthem with the hand over my heart – no matter where I head it played. 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.”
The NBA quickly released a statement that said all teams will play the national anthem before games, leading to Cuban announcing that Mavericks will play the song. The national anthem has been a hot topic the last few years ever since former San Francisco Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the song in 2016 to protest police brutality and social injustice in the country.
