MEDICAL EMERGENCY

National Anthem Singer Hospitalized After Collapsing on Field

The singer stopped twice while performing and then fell to the ground near second base, as fans looked on in stunned silence.

A popular anthem singer for the Chicago White Sox was taken to the hospital after collapsing on the field before Wednesday’s game. Gerald Chaney was singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” prior to the start of the White Sox’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays when he stopped twice and then fell to the ground near second base, NBC Chicago reports. Fans looked on in stunned silence as paramedics tended to Chaney for several minutes before loading him onto a stretcher and transporting him to a hospital, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He was alert as he was taken from the field, according to the White Sox. “The White Sox longtime anthem performer, Gerald Chaney, experienced a medical emergency while singing during pregame tonight. He received treatment by EMTs at the ballpark and was alert prior to being transported to the hospital for further evaluation and treatment,” the team wrote on X. “The entire White Sox family is sending love to Gerald and his family for a full and speedy recovery.” The start of the game was delayed 12 minutes. Chaney had been singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing”—known as the “Black national anthem”—in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. He was also slated to perform “The Star Spangled Banner.”