Michael Strahan is talking up after days of backlash.
Earlier this week, we reported on the weird Michael Strahan “controversy” surrounding his participation in a Veteran’s Day tribute for Fox Sports activities.
It was a bit obscure the vitriol that the TV information anchor and retired athlete obtained.
Sadly, Michael has needed to instantly handle the incident (if one may even name it that). He’s dealing with this with extra tact and charm than his detractors essentially deserve.
What did Michael Strahan do, precisely?
On Sunday, November 10, Michael Strahan was one of many contributors of a Fox Sports activities particular.
At Naval Base San Diego, a part of the particular included listening to The Star Spangled Banner, the US Nationwide Anthem.
Whereas Michael Strahan and his colleagues stood respectfully for the music, Michael Strahan’s arms had been positioned at his waist, somewhat than posing with one hand above his coronary heart.
We conclude our present on the Naval Base San Diego with the nationwide anthem ???????? pic.twitter.com/lDb2g6oF0f
— FOX Sports activities: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 10, 2024
The video circulated on Twitter and past. Whether or not invited by outrage-bait grifters or for their very own mysterious causes, plenty of troll feedback emerged within the replies.
Commenters condemned Strahan, accusing him of insulting each the army and America itself. Some referred to as for Strahan to even be fired for his “disrespectful” and “disgraceful” actions.
Maybe individuals had been merely in search of causes to lash out, and settled on Strahan. As current occasions have made clear, the world appears to have gone mad over the previous decade. A part of that appears to be an outrage tradition the place individuals dwelling their lives — or standing solemnly throughout a music — are handled as private assaults.
What does Michael Strahan to say about all of this?
With extraordinary endurance that many in his place won’t train, Michael took to Instagram late Tuesday evening to handle followers and critics alike.
Strahan defined that the protection had “spilled over” to such a level that he wished to debate it.
As for standing respectfully along with his arms not reenacting a ritual of patriotism, he was not staging some form of protest. Michael defined that he felt “caught up in the moment” and didn’t initially understand that his hand was misplaced.
“I have nothing to protest, I have no statement to be made,” Michael emphasised throughout the video.
“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,” he famous. He made as a lot clear in a Veteran’s Day Instagram submit earlier within the week.
“I do so many programs to help veterans and soldiers,” Strahan added. “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.”
‘I somewhat panic’
“And so the fact of somebody saying that, you know, I’m unpatriotic, couldn’t be any further from the truth,” he affirmed. Because it turned out, he’d gotten caught up within the second because the anthem started.
Michael Strahan defined his considering within the second: “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 then acknowledged: “Which, that’s what I did, that’s what happened.” In different phrases, he has a really relatable degree of tension and overthinking.
