Fact Check: NFL 'Ruled' There's Only 1 National Anthem?

Claim:

The NFL "ruled" there is only one national anthem.

Rating:

Labeled Satire ( About this rating? )

A rumor that the NFL declared "there is only one national anthem" circulated online in early September 2024. According to posts sharing the claim, a league spokesperson named Joe Barron said, "There will be no official playing of any other song."

(America's Last Line of Defense Facebook Page)

Some users seemed to interpret the rumor as a fact, with one saying ( archived ): "Beginning of the end of 'wokeness,' hopefully." Another person posted ( archived ): "About time they decided to take a stand."

However, there was no evidence the NFL made any such ruling. Likewise, no credible news outlets reported on the alleged decision by the league.

Rather, the rumor originated with a Facebook post by America's Last Line of Defense — a network of websites and social media pages that describes its output as being humorous and satirical in nature. The introduction on the page reads: "The flagship of the ALLOD network of trollery. Nothing on this page is real."

The alleged league spokesperson "Joe Barron" is a fictional character the network often cites in its posts. Snopes has previously addressed many satirical claims stemming from America's Last Line of Defense, including ones that also used the "Joe Barron" pseudonym .

The fictional story spread in the first week of the 2024 NFL season, after Tasha Cobbs Leonard performed "Lift Every Voice and Sing" — commonly referred to as the Black national anthem — before the Sept. 5 kickoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens. Coco Jones performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" following Cobbs Leonard's performance.

During the NFL's 2020 season, the league announced it would host performances of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" before tentpole games, in addition to a performance of the national anthem.

The decision was controversial among some NFL viewers and politicians, with former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake posting on X ( archived ): "America has only ONE National Anthem and that Anthem is color blind."

Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims about the NFL and pregame rituals, including the assertion that it stopped playing the national anthem completely , and one that said at least one player was fired for kneeling during the song.

For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.

Sources:

Facebook . https://www.facebook.com/ALLODSatire/posts/pfbid02HxrtjiuTgMzt2k2mHbH3EMWginYnr6ZrntPfFV2GPT6AuMLR572GpUeLQHtXjiCfl?rdid=BwiExF01lbzDZWTB. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024. "Important Fan Information for the 2024 NFL Kickoff Game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium." Kansas City Chiefs , https://www.chiefs.com/news/important-fan-information-for-the-2024-nfl-kickoff-game-at-geha-field-at-arrowhead-stadium. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024. Lift Every Voice and Sing | NFL Football Operations . https://operations.nfl.com/inside-football-ops/inclusion/the-nfl-and-hbcus/lift-every-voice-and-sing/. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.