A Wisconsin bill to require the national anthem to be played before all sporting events at fields and stadiums that received public funding passed in …
A Wisconsin bill to require the national anthem to be played before all sporting events at fields and stadiums that received public funding passed in the state Assembly in a 74-22 vote Tuesday, with strong bipartisan support. Such sites include major, taxpayer-subsidized venues where the Packers, Bucks and Brewers play, as well as public schools and other facilities that were built or upgraded with taxpayer funds. The bill will go on to the state Senate, which Republicans control, where it could be sent to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ desk. “I think their next session is in June,” the bill’s Republican sponsor, state Rep. Tony Kurtz, told Fox News Tuesday. “So I think they would take it up, and maybe the governor can sign it on July 4. That would be pretty great.” Kurtz, a 20-year Army veteran, said he came up with the idea in response to the Dallas Mavericks’ decision earlier this year to stop playing the national anthem before home games. Another catalyst was when the Green Bay Packers chose to sit in the locker room during the song before a game in September.
