PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers are covering a statue of singer Kate Smith outside their arena, following the Yankees in cutting ties and looking into allegations of racism against the 1930s star with a popular recording of “God Bless America.”
Flyers officials said Friday they also plan to remove Smith’s “God Bless America” recording from their library. They say several other songs performed by Smith “contain offensive lyrics that do not reflect our values as an organization.”
The Yankees suspended their use of Smith’s recording during the seventh-inning stretch amid conflicting claims about several of her songs, including a 1939 song “That’s Why the Darkies Were Born.