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ESPN reverses national anthem decision after Las Vegas shooting
ESPN has reversed course, and said it will now air the national anthem before the Washington Redskins vs. Kansas City Chiefs game Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium. The network had said before the Las Vegas shooting Sunday night that it would not televised the national anthem. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

ESPN reverses national anthem decision after Las Vegas shooting

What's the story?

ESPN has changed course and will now televise the national anthem before Monday night's NFL game between the Washington Redskins and the Kansas City Chiefs, according to The Washington Post. Before Sunday night's shooting in Las Vegas that left 58 dead and over 500 injured, the network had planned to skip airing the national anthem.

The network will also televise a moment of silence for the victims of Sunday night's shooting that will take place before the game at Arrowhead Stadium, the Post reported.

Why did ESPN originally plan not to air the national anthem?

Although it has televised the national anthem in previous seasons, the production team made the decision to skip the national anthem before the season began and planned to highlight matchups in this time period instead.

The network has already made two previous exceptions so far this season: Week 1 of Monday Night Football because it fell on Sept. 11, and Week 3 when the NFL national anthem protest controversy made its way back into the national spotlight.

What about the rest of the season?

ESPN has not yet announced if they will continue to air the national anthem in Week 5 and beyond.

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