East Carolina protest

ESPN Fayetteville is taking a brash, unnecessary stand against East Carolina marching band members who protested the anthem.

On Saturday, 19 ECU band members protested the anthem by kneeling during their performance. The band was later booed in a subsequent performance.

In a (quite frankly) bizarre statement, Colonial Media Chairman and CEO Jeff Andrulonis said ESPN Fayetteville and WFAY 100.1 FM will not air this weekend’s ECU game due to the protests by the marching band.  In a noisy press release, Andrulonis used patriotism pro-soldier rhetoric to explain why the decision was made.

Frankly, the entire statement contradicts itself. How can you support the Constitution but not support someone’s rights to peacefully protest? The suggestion band members could have protested before the game is also asinine, as it would defeat the purpose of protesting entirely. Halting a radio broadcast doesn’t make a damn difference.

Also, telling college students who are making an active choice to fight oppression peacefully to “get an education” is garbage. Andrulonis needs to educate himself before making such ludicrous reactionary decisions.

WNCN.com reports ECU Chancellor Cecil Stanton urged fans to respect those protesting’s views, but in the same vein as Colonial Media, on Monday, a statement from the university said further protests won’t be tolerated.

“We regret the actions taken by 19 members of the East Carolina University Marching Pirates on game day October 1st felt hurtful to many in our Pirate family and disrespectful to our country. We understand and respect this is an issue where emotions are strong.

The Marching Pirates continue to be fully supportive of all the values the East Carolina University community holds dear.

We have met with the band and the members have collectively reaffirmed their commitment to the unique privilege and responsibility that comes with wearing the uniform of the Marching Pirates.

College is about learning, and it is our expectation that the members of the Marching Pirates will learn from this experience and fulfill their responsibilities. While we affirm the right of all our students to express their opinions, protests of this nature by the Marching Pirates will not be tolerated moving forward.

It is our hope that together we can move past these events and that the Marching Pirates will be part of the healing process, working as one Pirate Nation.”

The statement reads like a bunch of bullshit.

No matter where you stand on the anthem protests, sparked by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the stance is peaceful and respectful. Chastising band members who peacefully protest seems backwards. You can’t state to be “fully supportive of all the values the East Carolina University community holds dear,” then condemn students for taking a stand against police brutality and oppression of minorities. The letter directly contradicts itself saying it’s cool for students to express their opinions, but the protests won’t be tolerated. Which is it?

ECU and Colonial Media are picking and choosing what they deem acceptable. Turning the issue into something to do with patriotism completely misses the point of the protest. I would understand the statement if the protesters were aggressive or intrusive, but they’re simply kneeling to make a point. I wonder how differently ECU would act if players made the same stance?

It sucks that man-baby and hate-spewer Andrulonis is so personally offended and ECU fans had their feelings hurt. However, I’d much rather have my feelings hurt than face what’s at times unjust oppression towards minorities across the United States. It will be interesting to see if marching band members continue to protest, and what the repercussions of doing so from ECU may be.

[Image via WNCN.com]

About Liam McGuire

Social +Staff writer for The Comeback & Awful Announcing. Liammcguirejournalism@gmail.com