"I'm not going to hide my disappointment and I told the Predators that I have been asked the same question over and over and it's just really getting old," he told the Tennessean on Monday."Everywhere I go—obviously at my day job [a healthcare IT recruiting manager] and at [Bridgestone] arena as well as everywhere else I go to church, grocery stores, on the street, in meetings and in restaurants—people want to know how I feel. They came to me and said the captain's [Mike Fisher] wife asked to sing the anthem that night. It was presented to me as a one night only kind of thing and I agreed to it. Then they continued to bring in these other singers and touted them as 'A-listers,' which kind of hurt me."
"We have always valued Dennis K. Morgan's performance of the national anthem at Predators' home games. Our arrangement with him has always allowed for nationally and internationally renowned musical artists to perform when available to further enhance our game experience while paying respect to our country through their respective awe-inspiring renditions of the national anthem.
Morgan, who said he felt insulted by the organization at first, stated that after taking some time to reflect on everything, he "would love to make it two more seasons because that would be 25 in the NHL and that is kind of a dream of mine."It's not often, or ever, that an anthem singer goes to the media to complain about ice time. Well, here we are."The reaction from our fans in Bridgestone Arena as well as from around the country to seeing and hearing world class performers such as Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Vince Gill and his daughters, Little Big Town and Lady Antebellum during the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs has been overwhelmingly positive, bringing national and international exposure to our community while continuing to set our game experience and atmosphere apart from others in professional sports."