Coal Miner Sings National Anthem Before Shift in Viral Video

Buffalo Bills fans hold up an American flag during an NFL game against the Denver Broncos at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York, on Sept. 24, 2017. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

A video of a coal miner singing the “Star-Spangled Banner” anthem has gone viral.

West Virginia coal miner Shane Wriston posted a video on Facebook of his fellow miner, Josh Stowers, singing a powerful rendition of the national anthem for his co-workers just before they headed underground for the day.

“There is no kneeling in this bath house,” Wriston wrote on an Oct. 10 Facebook post. “We have daily safety meeting before every shift before these guys go underground, and we appreciate Josh volunteering to sing after the meeting.”

The nearly one-minute video took off on Facebook, gaining over 309,000 views and over 9,376 shares as of writing on Friday, Oct. 13.

According to Fox News, the two men work for Mammoth Coal in Mammoth, West Virginia, which is owned by Alpha Natural Resources.

The video received overwhelmingly positive feedback in the comments, with many people praising Sowers’ singing and the miners’ sense of patriotism.

“My husband is a miner. Thank you for sharing a pic of your safety meeting and your respect and patriotism” one person wrote.

“Respect? That’s what it is all about!” another person wrote. “Proud to be American and proud to see there is still Respectful men out there! Stay safe!!!”

The full video can be seen below.

The national anthem become a controversial topic this NFL season, after many players started kneeling during the national anthem, refusing to stand in what was started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick as a protest against “police brutality” and “racial injustice.”

President Donald Trump weighed in on the controversy in September, saying players that disrespect the national anthem and American flag should be fired.

Around 200 players and some team owners knelt in response, bringing the issue back to the forefront.

But the president remained firm.

“I will tell you,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an interview on Oct. 11, “you cannot disrespect our country, our flag, our anthem, you cannot do that.”

Recently a Sheriff in Louisiana took things further by boycotting companies that continue to support the NFL.

Bossier Parish Sheriff Julian Whittington told a local Ford dealership that his police department will stop buying Ford police vehicles as long as the carmaker advertises with the League.

Whittington wrote a letter to Hixson Ford in Alexandria, Louisiana, and said that the disrespect from NFL players has forced him to “take a stand.”

“Yes, the NFL players have a right to protest as they deem necessary, but we, the Bossier Sheriff’s Office and taxpayers of Bossier Parish have a right to spend our money elsewhere,” he wrote in the letter.

From NTD.tv