Mark Price Charlotte Observer Charlotte, N.C. – What is being labeled “the worst national anthem rendition ever” has resulted in a series of apologies from the singer and an Atlantic League baseball team in North Carolina. It happened Sunday, before a game between the High Point Rockers and Sugar Land Skeeters and involved a “last minute fill in,” Fox Carolina reported. High Point is about 80 miles northeast of Charlotte. “I don’t even know who this guy is, but he should never sing anything ever again,” said national sports columnist Terez Owens, who posted a video of the singing. The sports and pop culture blog Barstool Sports called it “quite possibly the worst rendition of the national anthem of all time,” in a tweet that also included video. It has been viewed nearly 165,000 times. Video posted on Facebook by TV station WXII reports Rockers employee Chuck Hayworth was the singer, and it shows him struggling with both the melody and the lyrics. The results include uncomfortable pauses, skipped lines and occasional shouting. Hayworth apologized later on social media, explaining he developed cramps from getting overheated just before starting “and you saw what happened,” the station reported. “By no means was this any disrespect to our country or our organization, nor all those who serve it,” WFMY quoted Hayworth as saying. The team apologized, too, saying “the rendition was not up to organizational standards,” and noting the singer was standing in for someone who got sick at the last minute, GreensboroSports.com reports. Team officials added that “numerous voice coaches have reached out to the performer and the organization offering their services to help redeem the last-minute performer,” GreensboroSports said. As a result, Rockers officials issued a statement saying they “will strongly consider having the performer back in the 2019 season” – after he has had singing lessons, Spectrum News quoted the team as saying.<doc-sep>Hide Transcript Show Transcript DAVONTE: WELCOME BACK. 4:00, THERE IS A LOT OF BUZZ AROUND THE HIGH POINT ROCKERS AND THIS WEEKEND. THE NEW BASEBALL TEAM GAINED NATIONAL ATTENTION FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS. TALITHA: A RENDITION OF THE NATIONAL ANTHEM PERFORMED SUNDAY AT BB&T POINT WENT VIRAL ONLINE. BILL O’NEIL SPOKE TO SOME WHO SAY PEOPLE NEED TO GIVE THE MAN A BREA REPORTER: THE SCHEDULED SINGER REPORTEDLY COULDN’T MAKE IT AND THE FILL-IN STRUGGLED TO PERFORM WHAT IS ARGUABLY A DIFFICU SONG TO SING. >> OH, SAY CAN YOU SEE BY THE DAWN’S EARLY LIGHT ♪ ♪ REPORTER: THE FILL-IN, A ROCKERS EMPLOYEE NAMED CHUCK HAYWORTH, HIT BAD NOTES AND AT ONE POINT SEEMINGLY FORGOT THE WORDS BEFORE ASKING FANS TO JOIN IN. >> ♪ WHO’S -- LET ME HEAR YOU, PEOPLE? SO BRIGH BEAMING ♪ REPORTER: CRITICS ON SOCIAL MEDIA DUBBED IT ONE OF THE WORST REDITIONS OF THE NATIONAL ANTHEM EVER, SOME WERE OFFENDED BY THE PERFORMANC HAYWORTH HAS SINCE APOLOGIZED ON ON HIS FACEBOOK PAGE SAYING "BY NO MEANS WAS THIS ANY DISRESPECT TO OUR COUNTRY OR OUR ORGANIZATION, NOR ALL THOSE WHO SERVE IT. NEEDLESS TO SAY THEY HAVE BANNED ME FROM SINGING IT EVER AGAIN AT BB&T." >> IF THAT WERE ONE OF MY STUDENTS, IT’S OK. -- THEY WOULD HAVE COME OFF THE STAGE AND I WOULD HAVE GIVEN THEM A HEAD AND SAY, IT IS ONE PERFORMANCE, IT’S OK. REPORTER: MUSIC TEACHER JAIME ENGLISH URGES CRITICS ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO SHOW SOME COMPASSION. >> PUT YOURSELF IN HIS SHOES IF THAT HAPPENED TO YOU. WOULD YOU WANT THE ENTIRE INTERNET JUMPING DOWN YOUR THROAT AND SHARING THIS VIDEO? REPORTER: THE MUSIC TEACHER’S DAUGHTER PERFORMED THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AT A GRASSHOPPER GAME IN GREENSBORO LAST YEAR. SHE WAS FIVE YEARS OLD. >> ♪ OVER THE RAMPARTS WE WATCHED WERE SO GALLANTLY STREAMING ♪ ♪ REPORTER: A FAR CRY FROM SUNDAY’S PERFORMANCE IN HIGH POINT. >> ♪ OVER THE RAMPARTS WE -- WERE SO GALLANTLY STREAMING ♪ ♪ REPORTER: A BAD PERFORMANCE, BUT MAYBE NOT BAD FOR THE ROCKERS THANKS TO THIS VIRAL VIDEO. >> I ACTUALLY SAW A FEW PEOPLE COMMENT, I’M GOING TO THE NEXT GAME BECAUSE I WANT TO SEE THIS HAPPEN AGAIN EVEN THOUGH THEY DID NOT SEE WHERE HE IS BANNED FROM DOING IT FOR LIFE. >> ♪ AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE ♪ ♪ REPORTER: WE REACHED OUT TO THE ROCKERS, A SPOKESMAN TOLD US THEY HAD NO COMMENT. WE ALSO REACHED OUT TO CHUCK HAYWORTH, HE DIDN’T RESPOND. IN HIGH POINT, BILL O’NEIL, Advertisement National anthem performance goes viral after singer forgets lyrics, hits wrong notes at Rockers game Share Shares Copy Link Copy High Point's new baseball team attracted national attention for a rendition of the national anthem performed Sunday -- but for all the wrong reasons. Video of the performance went viral on social media after the singer noticeably struggled with the song at the Rockers game.The situation went south after the scheduled singer reportedly couldn't make it to the game, and a Rockers employee, Chuck Hayworth, was called to fill in. "The Star-Spangled Banner" is arguably a difficult song to sing, but Hayworth hit bad notes and at one point seemingly forgot the words before asking fans to join in.Critics on social media dubbed it one of the worst renditions of the national anthem, and some even said they were offended by the performance. Hayworth has since apologized on his Facebook page, saying, "By no means was this any disrespect to our country or our organization, nor all those who serve it. Needless to say they have banned me from singing it ever again at BB&T. "Music teacher Diane English is urging critics on social media to show some compassion. "Put yourself in his shoes," she said.The team responded to a request for comment just before 5 p.m. Monday, stating,"On Sunday, the High Point Rockers had a last-minute fill-in for their National Anthem singer who fell ill. The performer volunteered to fill-in on short notice following a last-minute audition. Unfortunately, due to a combination of factors, the rendition was not up to organizational standards. The High Point Rockers regret the incident and apologize to any and all Americans.The Rockers also believe that second chances are uniquely American and thus are offering that opportunity to the performer. Since Sunday night, numerous voice coaches have reached out to the performer and the organization, offering their services to help redeem the last-minute performer. As a result, the team will strongly consider having the performer back later in the 2019 season, based upon a consensus opinion of the voice coach, organization and performer. Any update will be released at a later date. "Hayworth didn't respond to a request for comment.<doc-sep>
Move over Roseanne Barr's 1990 rendition of the National Anthem at Jack Murphy Stadium; there's a new "worst National Anthem rendition ever" in town. Two decades after comedian Barr finally moved away from the headlines of crotch-grabbing during “The Star-Spangled Banner” and started to make headlines for calling #MeToo victims “hoes” and complaining about not being able to use a homophobic slur, baseball viewers have seemed to have forgotten the comedian's ill-fated performance. Instead, they're focusing on a recent performance by a "last minute fill-in." On Sunday, before the game betwixt the High Point Rockers and the Sugar Land Skeeters — real team names Yahoo Lifestyle did not make up — Chuck Hayworth took to the field to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and drew criticism no human deserves. National sports columnist Terez Owens shared a video of the event writing, "I don't even know who this guy is, but he should never sing anything ever again," as if no one else has ever awoken with a chest full of regret after a night of karaoke. Quite possibly the worst rendition of the National Anthem of all time @Starting9 (via @T_Funds_) pic.twitter.com/rFDgyPmeZp — Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 5, 2019 Barstool Sports, who shared footage of the song on Twitter, wrote it was "quite possibly the worst rendition of the national anthem of all time," clearly never attending a small town's graduation ceremony. The singer in question, Rockers employee Chuck Hayworth, has since apologized on social media, explaining that he experienced cramps from overheating before he started singing. "To all who attended the game today... my sincerest apologies. Our singer could not attend today's make up game... I stepped in but did not realize that the heat had gotten to me. My leg began to cramp [and] you saw what happened," Hayworth wrote on social media. "By no means was this disrespect to our country or our organization, nor all those who serve it." Story continues The team also issued an apology, writing, "the rendition was not up to organizational standards." The Rockers added, "The Rockers also believe that second chances are uniquely American and thus are offering that opportunity to the performer. Since Sunday night, numerous voice coaches have reached out to the performer and the organization, offering their services to help redeem the last-minute performer. As a result, the team will strongly consider having the performer back later in the 2019 season, based upon a consensus opinion of the voice coach, organization and performer." However, Hayworth finished his earlier social media post with, "Needless to say they have banned me from singing it ever again..." Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.