New York Yankees game delayed by national anthem standoff on 4th of July

The New York Yankees’ game against the Cincinnati Reds on July 4 was delayed because players refused to leave the field once the national anthem finished.

On Independence Day on Thursday at Yankee Stadium, the Reds clinched a key MLB win over the Yankees , who have teetered on the edge of trouble in the AL East race over the past couple of weeks and lost Giancarlo Stanton to a bizarre injury .

The Yankees-Reds game on Thursday was delayed a few minutes due to the on-field antics from players. Yankees pitching duo Ian Hamilton and Cody Poteet were joined by Reds pitchers Graham Ashcraft and Carson Spiers in remaining on the field in an odd national anthem standoff that lasted over five minutes.

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The pairs of teammates refused to leave the field until they could be the final ones to remain in salute. Each player stood tall at the edge of the dirt, long after “The Star-Spangled Banner” had concluded - even to the point the other Yankees players took to the field to begin the top of the first inning while they remained.

Home-plate umpire Alan Porter was forced to gesture to both sides and requested they leave the field, but neither budged. The third-base umpire Jim Wolf also spoke to the players before Yankees manager Aaron Boone ordered his players to return to the dugout.

Hamilton and Poteet then stomped off, leaving the Reds dugout to celebrate a small victory before the game had even begun. Ashcroft was somewhat ecstatic as he returned to his teammates, who serenaded him with applause.

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The 42-45 Reds went on to clinch an 8-4 victory to complete a sweep of the Yankees. After a hot start to the year , the Yankees have struggled recently and have lost eight of their last 10 games to slip to 54-35.

The Yankees are desperately in need of the All-Star break. But it is perhaps fitting the Reds won the national anthem standoff on July 4, particularly 12 months after Cincinnati proclaimed it was in fact “America’s Team” akin to the NFL ’s Dallas Cowboys .

“It was all of us. We all decided,” Reds infielder Jonathan India said in 2023 when asked about the decision to label the franchise “America’s Team.”

“Luke Maile was saying it at first. And we came up today and said, ‘Hey, you know what? We’re "America’s Team." Let’s run with that.’ We play the game the right way.”

The Yankees face the Boston Red Sox on July 5, while the Reds are also in action as they return to Cincinnati to host the Detroit Tigers.