Total Pro Sports
The NFL has worked extensively to avoid national anthem controversies since President Donald Trump’s first term in office.
Well, it sounds like Chantal Kreviazuk changing the lyrics to “O Canada” ahead of the Canada-USA 4 Nations Face-Off Final now has the NFL worried about similar controversies for future national anthem performances at their games.
Kreviazuk, a Canadian, changed a few words in her “O Canada” performance on Thursday night in Boston. Instead of “in all of us command,” she sang, “that only us command.”
Bill & Carolyn – Before last night's 4 Nations Final between Canada & the US in Boston, Winnipeg-born Chantal Kreviazuk changed the lyric from ‘in all of us command’ to ‘that only us command’ because of President Trump’s continuous calls for Canada to become the 51st state. pic.twitter.com/8gHApA8nTM
— Coast 101.1 (@coast1011) February 21, 2025
Kreviazuk changed the lyrics during her performance in response to President Trump’s call for Canada to become America’s “51st state.” And now, it sounds like the NFL is worried that future performers of “The Star-Spangled Banner” for their games will follow Kreviazuk’s lead by changing the lyrics in their national anthem performances.
Here’s what Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wrote on the matter:
“At every game, the person chosen to sing the song could choose to go rogue and change the lyrics. It could happen at a run-of-the-mill regular-season game. It could happen at the Super Bowl.
We asked the league on Friday whether steps have been taken to keep that from occurring. We didn’t get a response. Which means either that they’re ignoring us (again) or that they don’t have a response because they never thought about it before.
They probably should. Kreviazuk has exposed a loophole for anyone who wants to make any statement they want by making a shift in the lyrics to the Star-Spangled Banner.”
There’s no perfect way for the NFL to ensure that their national anthem performers will perform the normal lyrics from start to finish. Florio notes that this may be a new concern they never previously considered.
In 2017, his first year as president, Donald Trump called for the NFL to “fire” any players who refused to stand for the national anthem. Then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the movement in 2016, stating that he knelt in protest of police brutality and social injustices.
A year later, the league introduced a new anthem policy that requires all coaches and players to stand during the performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” However, they have the option to stay in the locker room during the national anthem performance.
