--- title: NFL Protest: Jordin Sparks Takes Stand With National Anthem description: Jordin Sparks sang the national anthem during Monday Night Football with a bible verse on her hand canonical: https://time.com/4957272/jordin-sparks-national-anthem/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-26T16:31:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:47:33.145Z og:title: Jordin Sparks Stood Up for Equality During the National Anthem og:description: A little bible verse can go a long way og:url: https://time.com/4957272/jordin-sparks-national-anthem/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf33b4d81c147bbeb/6988df6f8fd2ee9ca835905a/gettyimages-853841182.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4434 og:image:height: 2494 og:image:alt: Dallas Cowboys v Arizona Cardinals og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jordin Sparks Stood Up for Equality During the National Anthem twitter:description: A little bible verse can go a long way twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf33b4d81c147bbeb/6988df6f8fd2ee9ca835905a/gettyimages-853841182.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Subtle Way Jordin Sparks Stood Up for Equality When She Sang the National Anthem > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Sep 26, 2017 4:31 PM UTC  GLENDALE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 25: Singer Jordin Sparks performs the National Anthem before the start of the the NFL game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys at the University of Phoenix Stadium on September 25, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) GLENDALE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 25: Singer Jordin Sparks performs the National Anthem before the start of the the NFL game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys at the University of Phoenix Stadium on September 25, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) Christian Petersen—Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Sep 26, 2017 4:31 PM UTC Jordin Sparks may not have taken a knee when she sang the [national anthem](http://time.com/4955623/history-national-anthem-sports-nfl/) to kick off Monday Night Football, but she did make a statement. However, only people who know their Bible verses may have caught it. When the singer appeared on Monday Night [Football](http://time.com/4955039/donald-trump-twitter-nfl-nba-boycott/) she had the verse Proverbs 31:8-9 written on her hand. In the New International Version of the Bible, that verse reads: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute./Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” It appeared to be a subtle way of showing her support for the [football players](http://time.com/4956730/alejandro-villanueva-pittsburgh-steelers-national-anthem-embarrassed/) who have been at the center of a national debate—and several [Presidential tweets](http://time.com/4955104/nfl-players-kneel-anthem-trump/)—as they have taken a knee during the anthem as a form of silent protest over the treatment of African Americans at the hands of police. Before Sparks sang the anthem, the Dallas Cowboys —along with their head coach Jason Garrett and team owner Jerry Jones—kneeled as they linked hands. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4957272/jordin-sparks-national-anthem/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4957272/jordin-sparks-national-anthem/"},"headline":"The Subtle Way Jordin Sparks Stood Up for Equality When She Sang the National Anthem","datePublished":"2017-09-26T16:31:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:47:33.145Z","description":"A little bible verse can go a long way","url":"https://time.com/4957272/jordin-sparks-national-anthem/","keywords":["Newsfeed","National Anthem","Sports"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf33b4d81c147bbeb/6988df6f8fd2ee9ca835905a/gettyimages-853841182.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf33b4d81c147bbeb/6988df6f8fd2ee9ca835905a/gettyimages-853841182.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Dallas Cowboys v Arizona Cardinals","caption":"Dallas Cowboys v Arizona Cardinals","creditText":"Christian Petersen—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4957272/jordin-sparks-national-anthem/","name":"The Subtle Way Jordin Sparks Stood Up for Equality When She Sang the National Anthem"}}]}] ```