A Virginia Tech basketball coach noticed that some of his players were
sitting for the national anthem, and set them straight in an unforgettable
speech (video below).
Coach Buzz Williams’ speech about the importance of the anthem quickly
went viral after it was originally shared, showing an incredibly important
and moving perspective on what it means to be an American and salute the
flag.
“We didn’t earn those chairs,” Williams tells his players, pointing to the
bench.
Your talent didn’t earn those chairs. How tall you are and how fast you run,
how well you shoot, didn’t earn those chairs. Me drawing up a play, me
recruiting real hard, me working real hard, I didn’t earn the chair. These
guys, when they were your age, interrupted their life. They paused their
education. They changed their career. And they gave their life for those
chairs. Do you guys understand what I’m saying? Not us, not us. And so
when the anthem is played, we’re going to stand like grown men, and we’re
going to honor men like this that gave their life so we can have a chair to sit
in.
Williams then instructs the players to not only stand for the anthem, but
also pay attention to what they are saluting and not take for granted the
freedoms they have as Americans.
“And then the two-and-a-half minutes that the song is played, or somebody
sings it, we’re going to stand at attention and honor these men. We’re not
going to sway back and forth. We’re not messing with our shorts, we’re not
messing with our jersey,” he said.
“Those two-and-a-half minutes, we’re going to give to the people who
earned these chairs, because that freedom allows us to do what we’re
doing.”
Williams’ speech garnered applause from people who felt it was the right
way to address the controversy surrounding the national anthem.
“I don’t know the name of this coach, he is a man of [honor]. He brought
me to tears by what he said to these young men He didn’t yell he didn’t me to tears, by what he said to these young men. He didn t yell he didn t
shame them, he taught them that behind this anthem there are real men
and women who have given so such for them and their country,” one
reader commented on AWM.
“This lesson will stay with them for a lifetime, and just maybe they will
think before they disrespect a service person ever again. Thank you sir.”