Odell Changes Location Of Anthem Rally Sunday

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — County Executive MaryEllen Odell has changed the location of Sunday's rally about respecting the national anthem. It will be at Laura Spain Cornerstone Park just a block away from the American flags just re-erected at Lake Gleneida.

Odell called the rally Monday, after President Donald Trump's Friday remarks on football players "taking a knee" during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner to protest racial injustice and police brutality resulted in massive pushback from NFL players and owners.

“Standing during the National Anthem is not about anything political,” she said in a press release. "This isn't about race, this is about respect."

She also ordered the immediate installation of the county’s Row of Honor along Lake Gleneida in Carmel. The Row of Honor is usually on display twice a year in observance of Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

Karl Rohde, Director of Putnam County’s Veteran Service Agency agrees with Odell’s stance on the anthem.

“A few years ago, the US Supreme Court made a mistake by ruling that burning the American Flag was free speech. As a Veteran I vehemently disagreed,” said Rohde in the same press release. “The learned jurists got that wrong. The disrespect that some NFL players are displaying is as vile as the burning of the American Flag. Now they are claiming that they do not mean to disrespect Veterans and Service Members. If you disrespect our National Anthem you have disrespected everyone who ever wore a uniform of the US military.”

Spain Cornerstone Park is located at 1 Fair Street, Carmel, NY 10512.