BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams apparently did not like the way some players behaved while the National Anthem played prior to basketball games, WTVR reports.
As a result, Coach Williams gathered his players and had them stand, face-to-face, with men and women who served this country in the armed forces.
“These guys, when they were you age, interrupted their life, they paused their education, they changed their career, and they gave their life for those chairs,” Coach Williams said. “So when the Anthem is played, we’re going to stand like grown men and we’re going to honor men like this, that gave their life, so we can have a chair to sit in.”
Coach Williams told his players they would stand at attention while the anthem played.
Coach Williams’ respect for the National Anthem is not new. In 2014, he blogged about the importance of showing respect for the anthem.
