Update: Marc Anthony responds to racist tweets

It would appear that there are still plenty of people in America who do not believe that someone of Hispanic descent is capable of being American. After the MLB All-Star Game Tuesday there was an outpouring of Twitter users who derided baseball's annual showcase for allowing Marc Anthony to sing "God Bless America."

Despite his decidedly Latin flair, Anthony is a native born American. He was born in New York and raised by Puerto Rican parents in Spanish Harlem, thus giving him his international appeal. Still, many did not approve of MLB using someone who was not perceived as English in origin.

"Why is Marc Anthony singing "God Bless America?" He's not even American. Shoulda got someone sweet like Kesha," tweeted Spencer Babcock (@jakebabcock).

While Ke$ha is certainly perceived as being decidedly more American in the Anglo-Saxon version of the word, it is also generally agreed that she does not have the vocal range or strength of Marc Anthony. Those traits do not seem to matter, however, as another user even called his selection a 'disgrace.'

"Another disgrace Marc Anthony singing god bless America.Is he even an American citizen?" tweeted another Twitter user, Brian Edwards (@Dusboy7).

Sadly, this is not the first time that Americans have become angered by a person of Hispanic descent singing patriotic songs as sporting events. Previously, they took to Twitter to express their discontent over the selection of 11-year-old Sebastien De La Cruz to sing the Star-Spangled Banner during Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

Like Anthony, De La Cruz is of Hispanic descent but born in America. He has spent his entire life in San Antonio, Texas, and most agreed that he did an admirable job singing the National Anthem. When he was confronted by the unwarranted racism on Twitter, De La Cruz gave a response that was far beyond his years.

"I'm a proud American and I live in a free country ... It's not hurting me. It's just your opinion. With the racism remarks, to be honest, it's just the people how they were raised. My father and my mother told me that you should never judge people by how they look. You should judge them on the inside. And the saying that I go by is never judge a book by its cover."

Due to the outpouring of support for De La Cruz in the wake of the racist remarks against him, he was offered the opportunity to sing in Game 4 of the Finals. He took advantage of that opportunity, and was met with raucous cheers when he approached the mic again.