New Song Could End NFL Anthem Protests in Time for Super Bowl


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1/09/2018

The NFL anthem protests began over a song and now a Nashville songwriter and football fan hopes his new song can bring them to an end.  Greg Stielstra (“STEEL-struh”) wrote I Stand to mend the rift between NFL players and fans and restore respect for our anthem.  The song pays tribute to military veterans and civil rights pioneers and makes the point that standing for the anthem honors everyone who sacrificed for American values of equality and justice.  

“The players fight against racial discrimination and police brutality is a worthy cause, but their protest method is misguided because fans can't support it without disrespecting our country.” said Stielstra. “But that’s a false choice. America stands for equality and when we stand for the anthem, we do too. Racial discrimination is the work of people behaving in an un-American way. That means players can best support their cause by standing.”

Stielstra produced the song independently. It features a who's who of Nashville's top studio musicians including, Michael Lusk on vocals (Loretta Lynn, Jason Aldean) and Buddy Hyatt (Toto) producing and playing keyboards.  Hear the song.

I Stand is available on iTunes and wherever music is sold online 
beginning on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 15, 2018.
iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1332181131?ls=1&app=itunes 

The I Stand lyric video https://youtu.be/Hh9tUn1Q-2U 


About Greg Stielstra: Greg Stielstra is an unemployed marketing guy whose wife let him spend some of their savings to bring his song to life, a Christian, a Packers fan who helps lead The Nashville Packer Backers club, author of two books, a songwriter, Nashville's worst guitarist, a husband, father and patriot who lives in Franklin, Tennessee just south of Nashville.

Greg Stielstra
greg.stielstra@gmail.com


Popular posts from this blog

The I Stand Super Bowl Challenge

The Super Bowl is the largest spectacle of the year. 100+ million people around the world will be watching. NBC said it will televise any players that disrespect the anthem. Will players use the platform to celebrate their commitment to American values of equality, liberty and justice for all by standing for the anthem? Will they honor both military veterans and civil rights pioneers by placing their hand over their heart? Or, will they continue to divide our nation and alienate their fans by refusing to stand? I'd like to know. So let's ask. Super Bowl participants will be decided in the conference championship games January 21st. Once we know who's playing, I'd like fans to tweet every player on both teams with a message like this. "When you stand for the anthem you honor military vets AND civil rights pioneers while calling all Americans to the values of equality and justice.  Will you stand for the anthem Super Bowl Sunday? If you will, tweet #IStand....
Read more

Ways You Can Help

Image
Do More Than Stand. Take Steps. Do you wish NFL players stood for the national anthem?  Are you sad that their protest makes it seem patriotism and social justice are at odds when they're not?  Wish you could do something about it?  You can. Here are ways you can promote I Stand and its message. 1. Share the I Stand lyric video on your social media.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh9tUn1Q-2U 2.  Like and then SHARE the I Stand Song Facebook page. 3. Send an email to your contacts telling them about I Stand.  Invite them to visit the website at  https://istandsong.blogspot.com/ to hear the song, watch the music video and learn more. 4. Buy a copy of the song, give it to your local high school and suggest they play it during pregame warm ups before sporting events as a reminder to stand when the anthem is played. It's available on iTunes.  http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1332181131?ls=1&app=itunes 5. Share the link to b...
Read more

IF THE NFL WANTS RACIAL HARMONY, IT SHOULD SING ONE ANTHEM

Image
The National Football League’s decision to play a “Black National Anthem” before its first regular season game is a mistake that will worsen the racial tensions it seeks to relieve. Playing two anthems reinforces the idea that people with darker skin are different from “the rest of us.” So different, in fact, that “they” need “their own” anthem. Will the NFL introduce separate drinking fountains next? The league’s plan resurrects Jim Crow, a racial caste system that civil rights leaders fought and died to end and which the Supreme Court finally corrected with the reminder that “annoyances, some petty and some substantial, almost inevitably accompany segregation.” Worse yet, an unintended consequence of a “Black National Anthem” is that it hands a convenient argument to racists. If race justifies accommodation, then it can be used to justify discrimination as well. YOU CAN'T UNITE BY DIVIDING In 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, a third-grade teacher...
Read more