Joey Odoms, the Baltimore Ravens' national anthem singer and a member of the Maryland Army National Guard, announced his resignation Tuesday, citing the reaction of fans to players kneeling during the song, WJZ-TV reported.
Odoms, who got the job in 2014 after meeting John Harbaugh when the Ravens coach visited the Afghanistan base where he was serving, per WJZ-TV, made the announcement on his Facebook page.
"The tone/actions of a large number of NFL fans in the midst of our country's cultural crisis, have convinced me that I do not belong there," Odoms wrote. "Someone once told me to always 'go where you're welcomed.' This is not an emotional reaction to recent events, rather an ethical decision that part of me regrets but my core knows is the right choice."
In an interview with WJZ-TV, Odoms said he was not offended by the players' action to kneel during the national anthem as a member of the military.
"I support the protest personally — I fought for that right, but I don't like people using people like me to attack those people who are exercising their right," Odoms told the television station. "If I express how I feel, a segment of the fan base would attack me."
The Baltimore Sun reported that the Ravens had about a dozen players kneel during the national anthem Sunday before their game with the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London including veterans Terrell Suggs, Tony Jefferson and Mike Wallace and ex-Raven Ray Lewis.
The Associated Press reported that more than 200 players kneeled during the anthem Sunday, after President Donald Trump suggested the Friday before they owners should fire team members who took such an action during the national anthem.
Such protests had been going on in the NFL since last season when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat on the bench and then took a kneel during the song to protest alleged police brutality against African-Americans.
Fans on social media had mixed reaction to Odoms' decision.
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