College Coach Has Taught Players To Respect National Anthem For Years

Back in 2014, Virginia Tech basketball coach Buzz Williams noticed some of his players were not standing during the national anthem. They weren't doing it to protest anything. This was long before Colin Kaepernick made waves by sitting, then kneeling, during the national anthem during NFL games. 

But, the sight of his players sitting during didn't sit well with the coach, so he took action. He didn't punish them, instead he gave a rousing speech about the importance of paying respect to everything the national anthem stands for. 

A video of his speech went viral. He explained to the players they "didn't earn those chairs:"

Your talent didn’t earn those chairs. How tall you are and how fast you run, how well you shoot, didn’t earn those chairs. Me drawing up a play, me recruiting real hard, me working real hard, I didn’t earn the chair. These guys, when they were your age, interrupted their life. They paused their education. They changed their career. And they gave their life for those chairs. Do you guys understand what I’m saying? Not us, not us. And so when the anthem is played, we’re going to stand like grown men, and we’re going to honor men like this that gave their life so we can have a chair to sit in.

He then went on to explain to the players how they should stand, and what they shouldn't do while the Star Spangled Banner is performed: 

And then the two-and-a-half minutes that the song is played, or somebody sings it, we’re going to stand at attention and honor these men. We’re not going to sway back and forth. We’re not messing with our shorts, we’re not messing with our jersey

As a result of the popularity of his original speech, Coach Williams reminds his players every season why they must honor and respect the national anthem. 

Maybe this video should be required viewing on the first day of NFL training camps. 


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content