ESPN Will Not Show “The Star Spangled Banner” Before MNF Games
ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro announced on Friday that the network will not show the national anthem on television before any of the Monday Night Football NFL games this upcoming season.
Pitaro told Sara Fischer of Axios.com: “We generally have not broadcasted the anthem and I don’t think that will change this year. Our plan going into this year is to not broadcast the anthem, again that could change. It’s unpredictable what could happen in the world but as of now, we’re not. We have communicated that back to the NFL. They have not asked but as courtesy and good partners we have let them know what our plans are.”
ESPN has a new announce team for Monday Night Football this season. It's Joe Tessitore (Play-by-play), the recently-retired Jason Witten and Anthony "Booger" McFarland (analysts). They replace the departed Sean McDonough and Jon Gruden.