Anthem debate has different tone in Dover
The conversation over the national anthem debate takes a different tone here than in NFL stadiums. Some NASCAR fans already have rolled into Dover, site of NASCAR’s next Monster Energy Cup Series playoff race.
While today the sport boasts support from fans from all walks of life, it still has a sizable base and influence from the Bible Belt.
Outside Dover’s Monster Mile, still days from racing, RVs already are filling parking lots. These are the hard-core NASCAR fans. Their vehicles are adorned with American and other flags paying homage to the military or their favorite drivers.
When then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee for the first time more than a year ago, he sparked a national debate that has continued to grow. It was further fueled by tweets from President Trump last weekend, and the response from the NFL, its team owners and players. Each day brings more debate across the sports landscape.
“I would say it is silly and disrespectful, but you are allowed to do it,” said Tech Sgt. Adrain Wells Vargo, a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force stationed in Dover. “The great thing about this country is you have a choice to either stand or kneel during the national anthem.”
But that doesn’t mean he has to like it.
Vargo, a regular at Dover International Speedway since 2010, was sitting around his campsite with friend Brandon Reichlin, an Army veteran who did a combat tour in Iraq. He said coming from a military family, it has been ingrained in him to stand for the national anthem.
Kevin L. Burke, a sports psychology professor and consultant at Queens University in Charlotte, said because there has been such a steep patriotic tradition in American sports for many decades, the recent protests by NFL players have created a fervor among fans.
“Many fans view sports as a part of their community, and all of a sudden we have people going against tradition,” he said. “People are taking this issue personally and feeling attacked. This is just as personal to them as their religion.”
Most at Dover were against athletes kneeling during the national anthem.
“It’s terrible. We live in the greatest country in the world, one that gives you an opportunity to make hundreds of millions of dollars. And you want to disgrace it? Give me a break,” said Earle Mize, who drove his RV from North Carolina to Dover for the first time.
Mize said he knows everybody has political views, but he was adamant that those views shouldn’t be expressed before or during a football game.
“Go home and talk about it. Hop on the Internet, but play the football game. That’s what you are paid to do,” he said. “I don’t want to watch your political views. If you are going to kneel, I have the right to turn the television off.”
While Burke believes some athletes are protesting on national TV to get attention, most are doing it to bring attention to the problem of police violence against minorities. But he doesn’t expect it at NASCAR events.
“It is least likely to happen in NASCAR because the sport is driven by sponsorship and most fans are very loyal,” he said. “With so close a tie to the military and the patriotism shown during each race, I don’t see it happening.”
Reichlin, a Middletown veteran who takes off his hat when the national anthem is played on TV, believes people are “absolutely entitled” to take a knee during the national anthem. But he also says that a NASCAR race is the most unlikely venue to see it happen.
“If it happens in one of these places, I’m pretty sure that violence will ensue,” he said. “That would definitely rub somebody the wrong way. This is the most patriotic sport in America with all of the flags in the stands and campgrounds and the military presence at these events. I don’t think I’ll ever see the day when somebody kneels during the national anthem on race weekend.”
Mize agrees but said if he ever sees the day that it happens, his long relationship with NASCAR would end.
“If it happens at NASCAR, I’ll stop coming,” he said.
Smith writes for the Delaware News Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.