As Americans value their flag less and less as a worldwide symbol of freedom, some issues of tradition arise.
One of these issues is whether or not sports teams should continue playing the National Anthem before each games.
A new Texas law, the Star Spangled Protection Act, may force some professional teams into a position where they have no option.
Chron reported, The new law prohibits “a governmental entity from entering into a financial agreement with a professional sports team unless the team agrees to play the national anthem at the start of home games.”
Senate Bill 4 was prioritized by Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick following Cuban’s decision to stop playing the anthem at home games back in February.
If Cuban is to refuse, the team may face having to pay back millions to the state of Texas
“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,” Cuban said.
In reality, the anthem does represent all American citizens, though it is generally accepted as free speech for private organizations to skip out on such traditions.
With this new law, this freedom is still recognized, but if the team opts out of the anthem, they will be unable to receive government funding.
The government is not required to fund sports teams, and why would they fund a sports team that accuses them of racism?