A radio station in Fayetteville, N.C., WFAY-FM 100.1, said it will not air East Carolina's game against South Florida on Saturday because of the "shameful disrespect" the school's marching band displayed while protesting killings by police during the national anthem.
"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," Jeff Andrulonis, the CEO of the ESPN affiliate's parent company Colonial Media and Entertainment, said in a news release Tuesday.
The incident occurred prior to East Carolina's 47-29 loss to Central Florida on Saturday when 19 members of the band knelt during their rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" to express their support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The school was quick to condemn the students' protest, noting Monday that protests going forward "would not be tolerated," according to WITN-TV in Greenville, N.C.
Andrulonis said his decision not to air the game is to "protest the protest."
"I'm proud of our country, and I'm proud of our soldiers ... especially our soldiers at Fort Bragg ... fighting for our country," Andrulonis continued, noting he's gotten mostly positive responses to his idea 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," he said.
ESPN Radio, headquartered in Bristol, Conn., referred to the game as "local programming" in a statement to Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated and noted the decision to air the game falls "strictly in [the local station's] purview."
The radio station, which will air the Army-Duke game instead, said it will air the rest of East Carolina's games, beginning with the Pirates' game against Navy on Oct. 13.
Photo ID
Toronto police are standing behind their decision to release a photograph identifying a man who allegedly threw a beer can onto the field during Tuesday night's American League wild-card game, despite questions about their actions.
Investigators distributed a photo of a man they say hurled the can onto the field at the Rogers Centre during the seventh inning of the Blue Jays' victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Police asked anyone who knew the man to call police and urged the man to turn himself in.
It didn't take long for the man to be identified as Ken Pagan, a sports copy editor at newspaper conglomerate Postmedia in Hamilton, Ontario. Pagan said he has retained an attorney and contacted Toronto police, who could charge him with criminal mischief.
"I was drinking out of a cup," Pagan told Postmedia. "I'd love to tell you what happened and my story ... but I can't say anything."
Toronto police said they are confident in their identification of the suspect, noting investigators reviewed video footage with Rogers Centre staff.
Constable Allyson Douglas-Cook, a police spokesman, said investigators decide to release photos of suspects on a case-by-case basis.
"In this instance, it was felt to be necessary, but there's not a standard guideline that is followed," Douglas-Cook told The Globe and Mail in Toronto.
Sports quiz
What two former East Carolina football coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame?
Answer
Mike McGee (1970) and Pat Dye (1974-1979).
Sports on 10/07/2016