Jamie Nye: Anthems should stay in sports

The Dallas Mavericks opened the anthem debate again by opting not to play the anthem before their home games.

Owner Mark Cuban says many no longer feel the anthem represents them.

The NBA has now mandated the Mavs play the anthem before tipoff. But the debate on whether anthems have a place at sporting events is interesting.

Some say get rid of it. The anthem has become polarizing. It’s become a distraction. Or for some, they find it useless and a waste of time.

I’m not with them. Sure, it has become polarizing and politicized but it also means something. It’s the anthem that is supposed to unify. It’s the politics that are dividing. The anthem should be viewed as apolitical. It’s not Liberal or Conservative or Democrat or Republican.

The popularity of anthems at sporting events took off during the First World War and then again in the Second World War. The tradition has continued but sadly, the public’s attachment to the things that are supposed to bring us together is steadily declining.