NO IRONY

Roy Moore: Kneeling During Anthem Is Against the Law

“This is law. If we disobey this, what else are we going to disobey?”

Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore claims that professional athletes kneeling during the national anthem is against the law. In an interview with TIME, published Wednesday, the far-right Republican argued that athletes protesting police brutality violate a section of the U.S. code on conduct while the national anthem is playing. “It’s against the law, you know that?” the former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice. “It was a act of Congress that every man stand and put their hand over their heart. That’s the law.” He added: “If they didn’t have it in there, it would just be tradition. But this is law. If we disobey this, what else are we going to disobey?” The candidate’s comments came without any acknowledgement of his own history with the law: Moore was suspended in 2016 for the remainder of his term after ordering Alabama judges to not enforce the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling—the law of the land—on same-sex marriage.