Flyers stop playing Kate Smith recording after racist songs come to light

The Philadephia Flyers will no longer play Kate Smith's "God Bless America" recording at Wells Fargo Arena after discovering the singer performed songs that contained racist lyrics.

"We have recently become aware that several songs performed by Kate Smith contain offensive lyrics that do not reflect our values as an organization," the Flyers said in a statement Friday.

"As we continue to look into this serious matter, we are removing Kate Smith's recording of 'God Bless America' from our library and covering up the statue that stands outside of our arena," the statement continued.

Here is a photo of the statue as of Friday morning:

The Kate Smith statue near the Wells Fargo Center is covered, amid reports the @NHLFlyers have cut ties with Smith over racist song lyrics. pic.twitter.com/I6eCsT5oRl

- Mike DeNardo (@_MikeDeNardo) April 19, 2019

The New York Yankees, who also played Smith's recording during the middle of the seventh inning, were the first team to drop her rendition of "God Bless America" after learning of Smith's history.

Smith recorded an offensive jingle directed at "colored children" and a song called "That's Why Darkies Were Born," according to the New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy. According to Bondy, the latter song was considered satirical when it was released in 1931.

The Flyers started playing Smith's version of "God Bless America" at select home games in the late 1960s. She died in 1986.

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