The anti-anthem protest movement spawned by San Francisco 49s Quarterback Colin Kaepernick is now spreading beyond the sports world and into such unlikely corners as the U.S. military.
A report on military.com says two U.S. service members are facing administrative action for refusing to stand during the playing of the U.S. national anthem.
In the most recent incident, Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Janaye Ervin, a reservist on active duty with the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said she has been proudly serving her country since November 2008 but can no longer stomach the thought of standing in tacit support of the Star Spangled Banner.
“I feel like a hypocrite singing about ‘land of the free’ when I know that only applies to some Americans,” she wrote in a Facebook post explaining her actions. “I will gladly stand again, when ALL AMERICANS are afforded the same freedom.”
Ervin said she lost her security clearance and was threatened with jail by the Navy in response to her actions, but military officials would not confirm details of the punishment.
Ervin’s actions come two weeks after another unnamed sailor, this one attached to the Naval Air Technical Training Center in Pensacola, Florida, refused to stand during a morning ritual known as “Colors” in which service members are expected stand at attention and salute during the anthem. Instead of joining her colleagues, the sailor filmed herself seated during the anthem with her clenched left fist in the air in the “black power” salute made famous by Black Panther activists in the 1960s.
Military officials told military.com that the second sailor was subjected to administrative action but allowed to remain at her command.
Such protests by members of the military are technically illegal according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice governing active-duty personnel. Navy personnel are required by the code to stand during the anthem and salute the flag if they are in uniform or stand with their hand over their heart if they are in civilian clothing.
