The Tennessee Titans took on the Seattle Seahawks yesterday for week 3 of the NFL, and while both teams took part in the protest by staying in the locker room, it was the person singing the anthem that had a lot of people talking too... Meghan Linsey was formerly half of the country group Steel Magnolia and was also the runner up on season 8 of The Voice. She sang the National Anthem yesterday, sounded beautiful, but her actions at the end had people asking.... Why even offer to sing it if you are going to kneel. Especially yesterday.. Gold Star Mother's Day, a day set aside on the last Sunday in September every year to honor the Mother's who have lost a son or daughter in the armed forces. Meghan had this to say about her actions“I was absolutely terrified walking out there,” Meghan Linsey admits, speaking of her journey to the microphone at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, where she performed the national anthem before a Titans game Sunday afternoon. “I knew what I was getting ready to do, and I understood what it meant. Obviously I made a name for myself in country music, and I knew what the backlash would be. So I walked out there scared. But I have to go into my gut and my heart, and I knew that was the right thing to do today.”“Until yesterday, I didn’t even think about it that much,” she said Sunday evening. “Then I was thinking about the things that [the President] said yesterday, and I thought, man, it really does need to be addressed, and I think I’m in a position to take a stand and hopefully make a difference. I have a lot of African American friends, and they can’t stand alone. I love America. I’m not unpatriotic. I appreciate our men and women in uniform. That’s not the issue. I think the issue is the things that are happening around us with racism, and Trump will come out and openly condemn NFL players for peacefully protesting, but then these white national terrorists bring their tiki torches and cause this violence, and then he has nothing to say. It was important to me to stand with [African Americans].
“I couldn’t have gone out there and not done anything and felt good about it. Because I have always built this platform on empowerment and loving people, whatever color, whatever sexual orientation. And it was like: Of all the days that I would sing the anthem! It put me in a weird spot. You’re making a choice when you walk out there, however you handle it. If you don’t take a knee, it’s like, what do you stand for? For me, anything else wasn’t an option.”The backlash was fast and furious, while some was supportive, most was not. Some of the tweets included“Please leave Tennessee. We do not follow the fascist policies of the America hating democrats here.” “Just ruined her career; let’s help her end it. [Her Voice coach] Blake Shelton must be so proud.” “You disgusting vile excuse for an American! You totally s*** on those Marines holding old glory! I wish the worst for you!” “You knelt your career goodbye!!!”