On September 1st, Texas passed 666 laws that went into effect that has garnered conversation all over the country.
Aside from the abortion bill, the most talked about bill is SB4, which will require all new financial contracts between professional sports teams and government agencies to include a “written verification” promising to play the national anthem at the teams’ home stadiums.
If those terms are violated, their contracts with the government will go into default, possibly leading to financial penalties.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban admitted his team didn’t play the national anthem for the first 13 games of this season. Cuban said he was prompted to stop playing the song by some community members’ concerns that “the national anthem did not fully represent them.”
“We respect and always have respected the passion people have for the anthem and our country. I have always stood for the anthem with the hand over my heart — no matter where I hear 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.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) stated “Mark Cuban’s actions … made it clear that we must specify that in Texas we play the national anthem before all major events,” Patrick told local news outlets in February.
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The Mavericks’ national anthem controversy was short-lived after the franchise agreed to start playing the song again.
The anthem has become a subject of controversy in many sports, with players often using the pregame ritual to silently protest against racial injustice in the United States.
