Boyles misleadingly suggested state university “stalled” on playing “U.S. anthem” before baseball game

Peter Boyles of 630 KHOW-AM misleadingly suggested on his May 7 show that Colorado State University-Pueblo “stalled” on “The Star-Spangled Banner” after playing the “Mexican anthem” before a baseball game. As the school explained in a press release issued six days before Boyles' remarks, the U.S. national anthem was played after a brief delay caused by an equipment problem.

During the May 7 broadcast of his 630 KHOW-AM show, host Peter Boyles misleadingly suggested that Colorado State University-Pueblo “stalled” on playing the U.S. national anthem after playing the Mexican national anthem before an April 29 baseball game. However, as officials for CSU-Pueblo explained in a May 1 press release, the “playing of the [U.S. national] anthem was delayed by 30-40 seconds” because “the equipment failed.”

As The Pueblo Chieftain reported in a May 2 article, “A decision to play the Mexican national anthem prior to a baseball game at Colorado State University-Pueblo this weekend stirred up enough controversy that university officials sent out a press release Tuesday morning explaining their decision.” The Chieftain further reported:

On Sunday, the CSU-Pueblo baseball team hosted the Colorado School of Mines at Rawlings Sports Complex.

It was the last home game of the regular season and, as many college sports teams do, the Thunderwolves honored their seniors, including a Mexican national who is here legally and is charged non-resident tuition by the university, the press release said.

The Mexican national anthem was played to honor him and was done so at the request of his teammates, the university said.

A Mexican flag was hung in the home dugout, but nowhere else.

The article noted that "[a]dding to the controversy was an equipment malfunction that delayed the start of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' by nearly 40 seconds and prompted some in the crowd to demand the anthem."

The CSU-Pueblo press release further clarified what happened before the game:

The University normally does not play any other national anthem at our athletic events and the game on Sunday was not the result of a change in any University policy.

“The University takes pride in honoring both our own team members and our opponents, and this was a special occasion for a young man who has been a proud and loyal member of our baseball team and our university,” [CSU-Pueblo Athletic Director Joe] Folda said.

The University apologizes to those who were offended by this gesture of goodwill to honor one of our senior players, and for the equipment malfunction that contributed to the hard feelings by several of those in attendance.

Despite previous reporting on the game and the university's explanation issued six days before his broadcast, Boyles suggested that something other than an equipment failure was behind the delay in playing the U.S. national anthem, saying, "[W]e caught these guys." Boyles also said that the incident “in and of itself ... isn't that much, but start to piece these pieces of the puzzle together and it spells 'mother.' ”

From the May 7 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Peter Boyles Show:

CALLER: It sounds to me like you got a complex.

BOYLES: No. Listen. No, listen. We talked about this before. We talked about it last week, when the -- down in Pueblo, when School of Mines played Pueblo and they sang the Mexican anthem. And, by the way, they stalled out on the U.S. anthem down there.

CALLER: Oh, really?

BOYLES: Sure. And I'm saying to you in and of itself -- as I said when this began -- it's nothing. Put it together in the big picture and it's bizarre.

[...]

BOYLES: Now, we caught these guys here, thanks to a really cool mom. CSU-Pueblo -- an extension of -- Colorado State University-Pueblo paying, playing School of Mines, at their, at their baseball stadium in -- baseball field -- in Pueblo. And they have one kid on the team who's here from Mexico. They, they -- to a, to a tribute to him, they play the Mexican anthem and they tell people to focus on the dugout where they have the Mexican flag hanging. And then, they have a bunch of brain gas and they realize that they haven't played the U.S. anthem. Now, they're like cats in the sandbox right now. But suddenly, and then, and then the announcer says, “Well, now we'll play 'O Canada' -- ha ha ha.” And I'm thinking, OK, in and of itself it isn't that much, but start to piece these pieces of the puzzle together and it spells “mother.”