Instead of singing “With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free!” one of the members of the group sang: “We’re all brothers and sisters, All lives matter to the great”.
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The phrase, which is often used to rebut “Black Lives Matter” activists, was criticized heavily on social media by viewers who noticed the change on Canadian broadcasts.
The singing group The Tenors, apologized on Twitter after the performance, calling it “a disrespectful and misguided lack of judgement by one member of the group acting as a ‘lone wolf'”.
In a statement issued during the game, the group blamed the changes exclusively on Pereira, who held up the sign and sang the altered lyrics while the other three singers wordlessly harmonized.
“The actions of one member of this group were extremely selfish, and he will not be performing with The Tenors until further notice”.
He was also seen holding up a sign with the controversial slogan, considered a repudiation of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Another user, also unaware that Pereira had acted alone, said that the group should keep their “political statements” separate from the anthem.
“I’ve been so moved lately by the tragic loss of life and I hoped for a positive statement that would bring us all together”, Pereira later explained on Twitter.
The Tenors switched the anthem’s words to include “all lives matter” during their performance in San Diego.
– Since their formation in 2007, The Tenors have performed more than 500 concerts on five continents and made over 150 television appearances, including at the 2014 Stanley Cup finals, the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the 2012 Emmy Awards.
The Tenors are Clifton Murray, Fraser Walters, Remigio Pereira and Victor Micallef. Proponents of the “All Lives Matter” respons have received criticism for trivializing the problems specifically facing black people. Let us all live in peace, it is everyone’s birthright.
Tuesday’s incident follows a series of Black Lives Matter protests prompted by two police shootings in the United States that left two black men dead and last Friday’s deadly sniper attack on Dallas police officers.
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