Holmdel Superintendent to Sing National Anthem at Friday Night's Game

Holmdel, NJ - On Friday night, Holmdel’s new school superintendent is weighing in on the debate around the national anthem: He'll be singing it.

Superintendent Robert McGarry will lead the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" Friday night before the Holmdel-Spotswood football game at Roggy Field at the high school. Head football coach Jeff Rainess invited McGarry to sing the national anthem earlier this week. McGarry is a trained singer, and a former music teacher.

Patch also asked McGarry if he had any thoughts on the current debate surrounding the national anthem: Last week, Camden High School football coach Preston Brown kneeled at their home opening game, but didn’t ask his players to join him. Most players and coaches did join him in kneeling, but some stood. Brown said he made the decision because of his experiences as an African-American athlete attending college at Tulane University, in New Orleans. Watch Camden High School football below:

"As a country and as educators, we are at a great teachable moment. My vision is that with any such matter, we respond to it in as educationally a sound manner as possible, with our goal being deepened student understanding and increased ability to think critically about controversial issues," McGarry told Patch Friday. "The current events around the anthem have provided educators with an excellent opportunity to engage students in thinking about the essential question of the study of civics, government and human rights.”