Fox & Friends on Wednesday suggested students at a high school in San Ramon, California were wrong to oppose the national anthem's verse about killing slaves because those same students listen to "trashy music."
The San Francisco Chronicle reported this week that students at California High School decided to no longer play the Star Spangled Banner at school pep rallies.
A letter to parents explained that the anthem was being banned because of a "racially insensitive" third verse that talks about killing slaves.
“No refuge could save the hireling and slave / From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave / And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave," the verse states.
"This is political," Fox News host Steve Doocy announced on Wednesday. "Now, there is a high school where the students have decided, parts of the nation anthem -- the third verse -- are racist, we're not going to sing it."
"The students decided this," Fox News correspondent Carley Shimkus explained. "They were referring to the third usually unsung verse of the Star Spangled Banner that references slave -- or the killing of slavery [SIC]."
According to Shimkus, the decision was "met with backlash."
To make her point, the Shimkus featured tweets from several Fox News viewers who opposed the decision.
"How do you teach children about values and morals when they are encouraged to disrespect the most basic symbol of freedom, our flag?" one tweet said.
A second tweet complained that "the same students who say this verse is offensive will listen to trash music that is riddled with racial comments and is degrading women."
"The Olympics are going on right now," Shimkus continued. "Do you see how much the national anthem means to those athletes when it's played over the loudspeaker? I mean, imagine taking that away from them."
Watch the video below from Fox News.
