Longtime Chicago White Sox Anthem Singer Collapsed While Singing
On April 15, Gerald Chaney was scheduled to perform “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” which is often referred to as “The Black National Anthem,” as well as “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the Chicago White Sox game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
April 15th also marks Jackie Robinson Day within Major League Baseball, commemorating the day that the baseball legend made his major league debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. To honor the trailblazer, each team had special ceremonies and every player wore his jersey number, 42, in Dodger Blue.
Gerald Chaney stepped up to perform the anthem at Rate Field as he has done countless times over the last 30 years, but during “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” he knew something was wrong. The anthem singer paused twice before falling to the ground in an apparent medical emergency.
Medics immediately rushed on the field to assess the situation and took him off on a stretcher. Chaney was alert after the incident before being taken to a local hospital to be evaluated by medical professionals.
The game was delayed 12 minutes, and although he was scheduled to perform the national anthem after “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” it hasn’t been reported what the team did instead. Though they likely played a recording of the national anthem.
The White Sox Released A Statement About The Situation
At 7:31 PM local time, the Chicago White Sox released a statement on X:
“The White Sox longtime anthem performer, Gerald Chaney, experienced a medical emergency while singing during pregame tonight. He received treatment by EMTs at the ballpark and was alert prior to being transported to the hospital for further evaluation and treatment.”
The statement continued, “The entire White Sox family is sending love to Gerald and his family for a full and speedy recovery.”
White Sox manager Will Venable was asked about Chaney after the game, saying, “I’m really glad to hear that he is doing well. But obviously a scary moment. I think everyone did a great job in responding and did the best to make sure he’s all right. Really good news to hear that he is all right. That’s the most important thing, obviously.”
Rays manager also spoke about the scary situation after the game.
“I’m glad that he’s okay, he said. “That was very scary for I’m sure both clibs, players. It kind of put a little bit of a dull feeling there for the first inning or two.”
It isn’t known what caused Chaney to faint, but we are happy to hear he is recovering well. We will keep him in our prayers.
Watch Chaney perform “God Bless America” at the White Sox game in 2015 below.
