San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle had a message for Canadian fans after they booed “The Star-Spangled Banner” prior to a 4 Nations Face-Off match against the U.S. on Saturday. The Canadian crowd expressed their discontent during the U.S. national anthem at the Bell Centre in Montreal, but the American team ultimately triumphed, winning the game 3-1. Kittle, along with other American players and fans, took to Instagram to share his thoughts, stating, “Don’t boo the anthem!” alongside the final score.
As the game commenced, tensions flared quickly, with American and Canadian players dropping their gloves almost immediately. Three fights broke out within the first nine seconds: Matthew Tkachuk clashed with Brandon Hagel, his brother Brady engaged with Sam Bennett, and J.T. Miller fought Colton Parayko. Brady Tkachuk later remarked to ESPN that his brother’s fight “happened pretty organically.”
U.S. defenseman Zach Werenski expressed his displeasure regarding the booing during the anthem. This behavior has been noted in the NHL, particularly following President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs on Canada, which have since been paused. Trump has also made comments about Canada potentially becoming the “51st state.” Werenski acknowledged, “We knew it was going to happen. It happened the last game, it’s been happening in the NHL before this, and we knew tonight was going to be the same way. We obviously don’t like it.”
The U.S. had previously faced similar booing ahead of their game against Finland, which they won 6-1. Werenski added, “It is what it is. We kind of had an idea. We used it as motivation the best we could and found a way to get a win. But we had an idea going into it, so it wasn’t a surprise. Definitely don’t like it, though.