Player Walks To Center Field As National Anthem Starts, Then People See What’s In His Hand

A New York high schooler is getting a bit more attention than he expected after what he decided to do during the National Anthem. He walked to center field and gained everyone’s attention because of what he was holding – and that’s about the time someone snapped a photo of what they saw him doing.

Daniel Hayner (Photo Credit: Screenshot/YouTube)

With members of the NFL acting like spoiled little brats, it seems that the nation is split down the middle regarding their antics. While some believe they’re speaking out for the oppressed, others see them as nothing more than privileged, ungrateful punks who don’t know how good they have it.

Now, we’re seeing quite a bit of controversy around something where there should be none – the National Anthem. Despite the fact that patriotism in America shouldn’t be a partisan issue, it seems that now even some high schools are being caught up in pathetic temper tantrums that the NFL is ultimately responsible for inspiring.

Proving just that is what happened during the National Anthem at a local high school game in New York. According to Liftable, the Mechanicville High School Red Raiders squared off against Catholic Central High School in Troy, New York, where at least one player, Daniel Hayner, noticed something off.

Hayner’s reaction has since gone viral after someone snapped a quick photo of what he was doing. As can be seen in the image, he was actually holding the flag after realizing that the venue where his team was playing didn’t have one of their own.

When they arrived there, they realized the stadium didn’t have an American flag for the National Anthem.

Hayner couldn’t believe they didn’t have a flag up and believed it was disrespectful not to have it there for the anthem.

That’s when he remembered the flag that they traveled with and he realized they could put it to good use. [Source: Young Conservatives]

When Daniel Hayner started to get some attention for his patriotic efforts, he had the perfect response ready for the reporters. “All the stuff that’s happening now with the flag and stuff…I didn’t know if it was like that or where it was,” he explained. “I went over and stood at the end of our line (with the flag) and they were like, ‘No, stand in the middle of the field.’ So, I went out in the middle of the field and stood there.”

Someone snapped a photo, and the rest, as they say, is history. As for those responsible for the missing flag at the school, they’ve since apologized, saying that they merely ran out of time to properly prepare a flag for hanging and sincerely didn’t mean to offend anyone.

However, Hayner states that there’s really no excuse, seeing how all he did to remedy the situation was hold a flag for everyone to face. The school could have easily made the same accommodations. “People die to protect their country and for the flag,” Hayner said. “People are disrespecting it all the time. It needs respect for the people who served the country and respect it.”

The NFL could take some tips from this kid. It’s not about how you feel about the problems in this country, it’s about paying respect to the country that has granted freedoms and opportunities to millions of people. Furthermore, it’s the only place where sniveling man-children like the whiners in the NFL can make millions of dollars and still find something to whine and complain about. This kid deserves more admiration than any kneeler in the NFL.

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