John McCain: ‘Unacceptable’ to Use Taxpayer’s Money for Paid Patriotism at Sporting Events

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said in a recent interview with ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” that it is at best “disingenuous” to use taxpayer’s money to pay for on-field patriotic recognition at sporting events and at worst “unacceptable.”

ABC’s Jim Avila reported that the cost of some of events, such as people in the military dropping the puck at hockey events, throwing the ceremonial first pitch at baseball games and or singing “God Bless America” at sporting events, was as high as $49,000, paid by the Department of Defense.

McCain said of the use of taxpayer money to pay for the military recognition, “I think honoring our troops as we do in virtually every professional sport is a wonderful thing, but to charge the taxpayers for it in the name of patriotism is disingenuous at best and, frankly, unacceptable at worst.”