TORONTO — (AP) — Fans at a Toronto Raptors game continued an emerging trend Sunday of booing the American national anthem at pro sporting events in Canada.
Fans of the NBA’s lone Canadian franchise booed the anthem after similar reactions broke out Saturday night at NHL games in Ottawa, Ontario, and Calgary, Alberta, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump made his threat of import tariffs on America’s northern neighbor a reality.
After initially cheering for the 15-year-old female singer, fans booed throughout “The Star-Spangled Banner” performance. At the end, mixed boos and cheers could be heard before the crowd erupted in applause for the Canadian anthem, “O Canada.”
Joseph Chua, a Toronto resident who was at the game, said he’s going to be feeling the tariffs “pretty directly” in his work as an importer.
Still, he said he doesn’t think booing is “the right thing to do in this situation.” He chose to stay seated instead.
“I …