Fans cheered wildly for the Team USA baseball, but the players’ strange reaction during the national anthem turned the excitement into controversy

It looks like patriotism is being questioned a lot lately across various sports teams. After the Iranian women’s soccer team received backlash for not singing their country’s national anthem, the Team USA baseball team now seems to be in the same boat. The squad came under public scrutiny recently during the World Baseball Classic (WBC) final against Venezuela.​

As singing the country’s national anthem is a noteworthy tradition in any sport, the expectations from America’s baseball team were the same, but the audience ended up disappointed. According to the Daily Mail, the teams were supposed to sing the national anthem, yet Team USA made no efforts in singing, with only 2-3 players participating.​

This sparked backlash, especially because the opposing Venezuelan squad seemed quite enthusiastic and participated with peak patriotism by singing their anthem. The American fans didn’t seem to take this lightly and were quick to label the team as ‘disgrace’ for staying silent during the national anthem.

The Team’s silence later transitioned into a heartbreaking defeat

Team USA stayed silent during the national anthem, and their silence continued later when the opposing team snatched victory from them. Venezuela defeated the USA 3-2 in a thrilling World Baseball Classic final at LoanDepot Park in Miami. Their journey to victory began with a 1-0 lead in the third inning via Garcia’s sacrifice fly scoring Salvador Perez.

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​Later, Wilyer extended it to 2-0 in the fifth with a 414-foot homer. The signs of victory were already clear for Venezuela until Bryce Harper dramatically tied the score at 2-2. However, Eugenio Suarez delivered the game-winning RBI double in the ninth, leading to a solid 3-2 win against the USA. Still, this loss doesn’t seem to upset fans as much as the silence during the national anthem did.

The reason the majority of the team didn’t sing remains unclear, but them being silent after the loss would have told a different story. Judging by their body language, the players stood respectfully, without protest-like kneeling, suggesting they might not be harboring anything negative in their hearts.

There is a possibility that the players had an energetic discussion in the locker room just before the game, which left their faces blank as they focused on the win. But Venezuela winning the game despite singing their national anthem weakens this reason as well. Regardless, Team USA might have to issue a public apology; otherwise, the audience will continue to heap criticism on them.