The Baltimore Ravens national anthem singer has resigned after singing with the team for three years because of the ‘fans who attack players for protesting’.
Army veteran Joey Odoms wrote a farewell post to his Facebook page addressing his decision to resign from the position after he was awarded the job in July 2014 following head coach John Harbaugh visiting his base in Afghanistan in 2013.
Odoms, who is a member of the Maryland Army National Guard, had expressed his desire to become the team’s anthem singer to Harbaugh during his visit and won a competition for the gig when he returned home.
His resignation comes days after players on the Ravens and many other NFL teams took a knee during the national anthem in response to President Donald Trump’s call for team owners to fire players who don’t stand for the anthem.
Army veteran Joey Odoms (above) has resigned after singing the national anthem for the Baltimore Ravens for three years because of the ‘fans who attack players for protesting’
Odoms wrote a farewell post to his Facebook page addressing his decision to resign from the position after he was awarded the job in July 2014 following head coach John Harbaugh (together above) visiting his base in Afghanistan in 2013
Odoms wrote the above note announcing that he was resigning as the official singer for the Ravens and thanked the team for the opportunity
Odoms said he is not offended by the players’ actions, but did not want to get mixed up in the controversial discussion, WJZ reported.
In a Facebook post Tuesday, Odoms said his resignation ‘is not an emotional reaction to recent events, rather an ethical decision.’
‘Dear Ravens Flock,’ Odoms posted on social media. ‘I am resigning as the Official National Anthem Singer of the Baltimore Ravens.
‘The people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting at the Ravens organization have been nothing but nice to me, however the tone/actions of a large number of NFL fans in the midst of our country’s cultural crisis, have convinced me that I do not belong there.’
He followed up the first note and wrote the above statement saying he was leaving because of ‘fans who attack players for protesting’
Odoms said protesting is ‘a right in which I fought to defend’. He is pictured above while serving overseas in the Army
The combat veteran later shared an additional message and wrote: ‘Fans who attack players for protesting, (a right in which I fought to defend) but are simply not interested in understanding why, is the reason I am resigning.’
Odoms told WJZ News: ‘I support the protest personally – I fought for that right, but I don’t like people using people like me to attack those people who are exercising their right.
‘If I express how I feel, a segment of the fan base would attack me.’
A spokesman for the Ravens said in a statement: ‘We greatly appreciate the work Joey did for us, and we thank him.’