East Carolina U. Football Affiliate To 'Protest The Protest,' Drops Game Broadcast This Week Over School Band Anthem Flap

Protest

COLONIAL MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT Sports WFAY-A-W261CX (100.1FM ESPN FAYETTEVILLE)/FAYETTEVILLE, NC will not air EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY's football game this week against the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA due to the widely-reported incident in which some ECU band members took a knee during the National Anthem last week.

COLONIAL Chairman/CEO JEFF ANDRULOINS said, “Several members of the band refused to play the National Anthem and others ‘took a knee’ during the performance, with the result that roughly a dozen band members disgraced themselves on the football field this past weekend.  I’m proud of our country and I’m proud of our soldiers...especially our soldiers from FORT BRAGG... fighting for our country so I’ve decided that ESPN FAYETTEVILLE will ‘protest the protest.’ I talked with some of our EAST CAROLINA football sponsors yesterday and will be talking with more of them today. So far, it has been unanimous. Every sponsor I’ve talked to agrees that last weekend’s spectacle at DOWDY-FICKLEN STADIUM was shameful and a message needs to be sent.”

ANDRULONIS added, “The band members could have quietly protested in the early morning hours before the game. But that would have required them to wake up early. So instead they chose to make a spectacle of themselves in front of the big crowd at DOWDY-FICKLEN. They’re college students and it’s about time they get an education on the concept that their actions have consequences. And the consequence in this case is that the ECU PIRATES will not be heard on ESPN FAYETTEVILLE this weekend.”

The station will resume carrying ECU football after this weekend's game.  The PIRATES air on a 13-station network with BEASLEY Classic Hits WNCT-F/GREENVILLE as a flagship; no other affiliates are scheduled to drop the broadcast in protest this weekend.

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