Following Sunday night's mass shooting in Las Vegas, ESPN has reversed its initial plan and will televise the national anthem before Monday night's Chiefs vs. Redskins game, Sporting News has learned.
The network also will air a moment of silence for the victims.
Before at least 58 people were killed and more than 500 were wounded at a country music festival in Las Vegas, ESPN had planned to skip the anthem and go straight to kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. NFL TV partners typically don't air the anthem, with the exception of special occasions such as the Super Bowl.
ESPN would have been the only network not to show the national anthem this week as coverage of player demonstrations continues. In Week 4, NBC showed the anthem on "Sunday Night Football." Fox and CBS aired the anthem on some (but not all) of their game telecasts.
ESPN's usual "Monday Night Football" crew of analyst Jon Gruden, play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough and reporter Lisa Salters will be on the call Monday night. ESPN analysts will undoubtedly will address Sunday night's tragedy on the "Monday Night Countdown" pregame show.