Michael Strahan has addressed the controversy that blew up over the weekend when he failed to put his hand over his heart while the "Star Spangled Banner" played during a Fox Sports visit to the Naval Base San Diego for an annual Veteran's Day event. Given the current politically charged environment in the country, the knee-jerk reaction was that the 52-year-old had been protesting.
However, Strahan spoke out on Tuesday night in an Instagram video to reassure people that this couldn't be further from the truth. In the ensuing media frenzy, he was also seen on video grabbing the phone of a Daily Mail reporter who was waiting outside his home and throwing it to the ground.
"Hey everybody it's Michael here, and I want to address what happened this past weekend," Strahan started off. "I feel like I need to address it because it's still not over, to the point that I get out of my car today and I'm ambushed my media outlets here at my house." He noted that while he's "not proud" of the way he handled the situation, he did what he felt he needed to do to protect his family and home.
Strahan then recalled the events of the past weekend, which involved two days in San Diego with the Navy Seals, during which he attended a two-hour show praising the military to celebrate Veteran's Day.
"We had our National Anthem! I didn't have my hand over my chest," he explained. "Everyone thought, 'He's protesting, he's making a statement.'"
"I have nothing to protest, I have no statement to be made. The only statement that should be made that I want to make is I love the military, I’ve always loved the military, and I will always love the military," Strahan continued. "I do so many programs to help veterans and soldiers. I grew up on a military base with a father who was a major in the army. My brother, my sister, my cousins, they all served in the military—I’m a military brat."
"And so the fact of somebody saying that I’m unpatriotic, that couldn’t be any further from the truth," the former Giants defensive end lamented. In fact, he said the truth was nothing more scandalous than getting "caught up in the moment."
"I'm looking at all these young sailors standing there at attention while the National Anthem played, and I'm thinking to myself, 'How incredible to be that young and know that you want to do this, it's such a commitment, but you're willing to commit to something that gives us our freedoms.'" Strahan recalled. "Plain and simple! I'm just sitting there in amazement, which I'm always amazed, because I don't take it for granted."
"And by the time I looked up from that moment, all my Fox guys had their hands over their hearts, the National Anthem is playing, I somewhat panic and I’m like, ‘Do I be the fool that puts his hand over his heart after? Or do I just stand here with my hand in front of me respectfully?’" he wondered. "Which, that’s what I did, that’s what happened."
He added: "And if that offended any of our military and veterans, I apologize to you, because that was never my intent. I'm a product of the military, a proud lover of the military, and a proud lover of all those who serve for it now and will serve in the future."
In the wake of the evidently non-incident, Fox Sports told the Daily Mail on Sunday that the network would not impose any kind of sanction and that it was an honest mistake. "His peers have his back and understand that he wasn't making the moment about himself," a source said at the time. "There isn't going to be any type of punishment or fine going Michael's way."
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/rVu8Ehi
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