Furor After All-Star Game Singer Changes Lyrics Of Canadian Anthem To “All Lives Matter” [VIDEO]

ESPN reports:



A member of a Canadian singing quartet changed a lyric in his country’s national anthem and held up a sign proclaiming “All Lives Matter” during a pregame performance at baseball’s 87th All-Star Game on Tuesday. The Tenors, a group based in British Columbia, caused a stir at Petco Park with Remigio Pereira’s actions while singing “O Canada.”

In a statement of apology issued during the game, three of The Tenors pinned the changes solely on Pereira, who held up the sign and sang the altered lyrics, while the other three singers wordlessly harmonized. The three other members said Pereira won’t perform with The Tenors “until further notice,” calling his actions “disrespectful” and “shameful.”

“All Lives Matter” has become a common online response in past months to the “Black Lives Matter” movement, particularly after the recent police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.

The motivations and ethnicities of the proponents of the “All Lives Matter” response vary, but it has received heavy criticism. The phrase is widely perceived to use reductive reasoning to trivialize the problems specifically facing blacks.