Free Republic

EXCLUSIVE: More than two months have passed since women's fencer Stephanie Turner went viral after being punished by USA Fencing for kneeling in protest of a trans opponent. And after nine weeks of immense public and federal scrutiny against USA Fencing in the aftermath of the incident, the organization amended two of its most controversial policies last weekend. The organization's board of directors changed its rule to de-prioritized states with laws deemed "harmful" to the LGBTQ population and a rule that did not guarantee the national anthem be played before every event. Turner reacted to USA Fencing's recent policy changes...

Singer and social media personality Nezza broke a rule in Dodger Stadium on Saturday. Ahead of the Dodgers’ eventual 11-5 win over the Giants, she sang the national anthem in Spanish, but according to a video later posted by the performer, she sang it in her first language against the wishes of the organization. Nezza, whose full name is Vanessa Hernández, posted a video on TikTok where viewers can hear an unidentified Dodgers employee telling her before the performance that “we are going to do the song in English today, so I’m not sure if that wasn’t relayed.” The video...

The New York Mets left baseball fans furious on Friday night after showing a Pride flag on their big screen during a rendition of the US national anthem. Prior to their game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Mets controversially displayed the LGBTQ+ symbol instead of the American flag as the Star Spangled Banner played out at Citi Field. Despite a number of teams getting involved in the annual 'Pride Month' tradition in recent weeks, fans are threatening to boycott MLB over the divisive stunt that took place in New York. One user posted on X along with a video...

Just days after Canadians in Montreal booed the U.S. national anthem at the 4 Nations Face-Off, some Americans attempted to retaliate in Boston. On Monday, Team Canada held off Finland for a 5-3 win at the TD Garden, this time, some fans in attendance returned the jeers during the singing of “O’ Canada.” With the game not involving Team USA, the hostility on the ice did not exactly match that of Saturday night’s contest, in which the Canadian crowd rained boos down during the U.S. anthem in Montreal, with the jeers overpowering any semblance of support for the anthem. The...

Justin Trudeau’s attempt to curry favor with his countrymen following Canada’s loss to the United States during Saturday night’s 4 Nations Face-Off has made him even more unpopular with Americans. The Canadian fans booed the American anthem at Montreal’s Bell Centre in a game that saw three fights in nine seconds and vicious hitting throughout. Canadians have been booing the anthem since President Trump enacted tariffs against Canada and jokingly suggested our northern neighbor become the “51st state” of the United States. The U.S. won the game, 3-1. Afterward, lame-duck Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to X to say...

NFL fans are calling for a Super Bowl boycott after it was revealed the 'black national anthem' will be performed ahead of this weekend's big game in New Orleans. 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' is traditionally sung during the pregame festivities at the NFL's end-of-season showpiece, but has sparked huge controversy in recent years. The league has confirmed that Grammy Award-winning singer Ledisi will perform the song - in front of President Donald Trump - shortly before Jon Batiste's rendition of the national anthem on Sunday, leading to a huge fan backlash online.

Fans of the Toronto Raptors have become the latest group of Canadian fans to boo the U.S. national anthem during a professional sports game. The Canadian fans booed during the Raptors 115 to 108 win against the L.A. Clippers on Sunday. Raptors fans were not the first Canadian sports fans to boo the U.S. anthem in the wake of announcements of tariffs set by U.S. President Donald Trump. Last week, Canadian fans at two NHL games booed during the U.S. national anthem, and now Canadian NBA fans are joining them.

One of the country's largest health insurers has reversed its decision to no longer pay for anesthesia care in certain states if the surgery or procedure goes beyond a particular time limit. The original move by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, which would have started next year, alarmed doctors and policymakers. "There has been significant widespread misinformation about an update to our anesthesia policy. As a result, we have decided to not proceed with this policy change," the company said in a statement to NPR on Thursday afternoon. "To be clear, it never was and never will be the policy...

Anyone with an Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield plan will soon have to pay out of pocket for anesthesia if a surgery or procedure goes longer than expected, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists. The health insurance provider said they will no longer pay for anesthesia care if a surgery or procedure goes beyond a specific time limit. This will apply to patients in Connecticut, New York and Missouri. The American Society of Anesthesiologists said Anthem can pre-determine the time allowed for anesthesia, and if an anesthesiologist submits a bill where the actual time of care is longer than...

It's being called the largest ever breach of protected patient health information by a government-regulated medical company in America's history. Change Healthcare, owned by UnitedHealth Group, fell victim to a cyberattack eight months ago, but revealed on Thursday that 100 million people had been impacted. That surpassed the previous recordholder for worst breach of US patient data: a 2015 episode at Anthem Inc. that compromised 78.8 million individuals. The first official report by Change Healthcare, which manages revenue and payments for medical providers, estimated in July that only 500 people had been compromised. Now, the scope of the February 21...

Some fans are calling on FOX Sports to fire Michael Strahan after he stood for the national anthem during Veterans Day weekend without placing his hand over his heart. Photos showed that all of Strahan’s colleagues — Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson, and Rob Gronkowski among them — stood with their hands over their hearts. However, Strahan can be seen standing, the odd man out with hands at his waistline in FOX Sports X post: The Daily Mail noted viewers took to X immediately, criticizing Strahan’s actions, with one fan suggesting Strahan’s actions were “disrespectful to all Veterans and...

Actress Selena Gomez surprised students at a Colorado high school to support a local volleyball team who publically pleaded for the actress to attend. Gomez made the unannounced visit at Telluride High School over the weekend while she was in town to promote her movie “Emilia Pérez” and students posted a bright orange sign asking her to perform the national anthem — suggesting two potential times between Aug. 30 and Aug 31. “They asked!! Couldn’t help it, it’s my first time in Telluride!” ... The “Only Murders in the Building” actress posted a carousel of the event with a video...

Brittney Griner was among the WNBA players who spoke out about the national anthem in 2020 amid a summer of racial unrest following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Griner said in 2020 that the WNBA shouldn't play the national anthem, adding the league should "take that much of stand." She also walked off the court before the anthem was played before a game that season. But since then, Griner has gone through tumult. She was imprisoned for nearly 10 months in Russia after she was arrested on drug charges in February 2022. The U.S. and Russia would...

Scheffler shoots course record 62 to win gold.. Scottie Scheffler shot a bogey-free course record 62 at Le Golf National on Sunday for a come-from-behind gold medal victory. Sure, the impact of the victory will have on his all-time legacy may not be up there with his two green jackets or even his two Ryder Cup victories. But it's no secret that this was his most emotional reaction to a victory. ... While standing on the podium for the medal ceremony, Scheffler burst into happy tears during the playing of the national anthem. ... Scheffler now shifts his focus to...

There’s no other way to say it: Ingrid Andress—the country singer you may or may not know from songs like “More Hearts Than Mine” and “Wishful Drinking”—gave a god awful performance of The Star Spangled Banner last night. It might not have been Fergie bad (feel free to debate that one in the comments), but it certainly joins the un-hallowed halls of performances like Carl Lewis’ and Roseanne Barr’s.

An individual who is believed to have purposely butchered the national anthem at a Pittsburgh Pirates game has been taking heat after controversially changing the words to the patriotic song. The performer altered the words of the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ before the game, changing “and the rocket’s red glare” to “And the rocket’s blue glare.” Needless to say, Pittsburgh Pirates fans were not best pleased. “At the :50 mark. This is totally embarrassing and self-important. This guy — Bethany Hallam’s boyfriend — sang the anthem last night at the Pirates game and changed the lyrics to “…and the rockets’...

When Code Pink protesters demonstrated outside of Jake Tapper's house, calling his coverage of the Israel-Hamas war "negligent" and "pathetic," Tapper's teenage children responded by waving and playing "The Star-Spangled Banner." Video of the incident shows protesters with the activist group Code Pink using megaphones outside of Tapper's D.C. home last week. At least one demonstrator wore a keffiyeh, an Arab headscarf that has become associated with Palestinians. The protesters accused Tapper, who is Jewish, of spreading "Israeli propaganda," and expressed anger that he refused to call Israel's military actions in Gaza a "genocide." Tapper's children, Jack, 14, and Alice,...

This raises some serious questions. . World-famous cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough recently revealed startling figures about the immense earnings doctors received for pushing the COVID-19 injections. On the Tommy T Podcast, Dr. McCullough claimed that a typical doctor could make an extra $250,000 if they injected a substantial portion of their patients. More specifically, if a doctor injected 75% of his or her patients at $250 per newly-injected person, that would end up being around $250,000. This revelation was discovered through a leaked Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield document. ... Dr. McCullough explained that a full-time primary care physician typically...

Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) will not vote for his own party’s nominee for president, he said Tuesday. The establishment politician’s statement that he will not vote for Donald Trump comes days after the former president locked up the party’s nomination. Young had indicated earlier he would not endorse Trump, but Tuesday is the first time he admitted publicly he will not even vote for his party’s standard bearer. “At some point, principled conservatives need to incentivize our party, the Republican Party, to nominate somebody that principled conservatives can actually believe in,” Young told a local Indiana outlet. “Stated differently, I’m...

White Tennessee Democrat Congressman Steve Cohen was incensed that Super Bowl fans did not stand in respect for what he called the “Negro National Anthem” during Sunday night’s big game. As it has for the last several championship games, the NFL opened the Super Bowl with the song “Life Every Voice and Sing,” which many agitators have proclaimed to be “the black national anthem.” Of course, it isn’t a “national anthem” at all, but regardless, Congressman Cohen was not happy that the video of fans in the stands showed that not many were standing as R&B singer Andra Day performed...