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That sparked a wave of protests and demonstrations around the league the following Sunday, most of which involved kneeling in defiance. It also injected a lot of unnecessary drama into Tuliao’s life.

“The first thought that went through my mind was, 45 (Trump is the 45th president) strikes again,” said Tuliao. “Of course he does.”

Tuliao admitted the controversy left her feeling conflicted about whether she should do something during her performance to show that she, and her country, stand with the players and their fight for racial equality and freedom of expression.

Last Sunday, the Seahawks played in Tennessee, where anthem singer Meghan Linsey, a former contestant on “The Voice,” knelt after singing the national anthem to show solidarity with the players. Tuliao has considered something similar.

Photo by Ryan Hermens / AP

“There was a part of me that was like, ‘How do I show my support?,’ because here’s an opportunity for me to show my support for the players, but at the same time I’m singing the Canadian anthem and I don’t want to bring any unnecessary drama into my portion of this,” she said. “Do I keep it simple? Do I take this opportunity to be political? I just kept bouncing ideas back and forth up until the point when one of the Seahawks’ organization members called.”

It turned out that she wasn’t the only one stressing about the Canadian anthem. In a phone conversation Wednesday, Tuliao was told that the Seahawks had decided to cancel the second anthem. With all the unrest surrounding the Star-Spangled Banner, the club was wary about dragging O Canada into things.