Family \'appalled\' at Kate Smith statue removal

BROADCASTER: NO USE.

DIGITAL: NO USE AUSTRALIA BROADCASTER WEBSITES.

NO USE ABC AMERICA, FOX, UNIVISION, TELEMUNDO, BBC AMERICA, NBC, OR THEIR DIGITAL/MOBILE PLATFORMS.

NO ACCESS PHILADELPHIA AREA MEDIA MARKETS.**~ ROUGH CUT (no reporter narration) STORY: Suzie Andron, the niece of the late singer Kate Smith, and her husband Bob, say they are "appalled" at the removal of her late aunt's statue by the Philadelphia Flyers from outside its arena.

The Flyers have announced they will also stop playing Smith's rendition of "God Bless America" at their games after learning of Smith's alleged history of racism.

In a statement Friday morning, the Flyers said "We have recently become aware that several songs performed by Kate Smith contain offensive lyrics that do not reflect our values as an organization.

As we continue to look into this serious matter, we are removing Kate Smith's recording of 'God Bless America' from our library and covering up the statue that stands outside of our arena." The statue was removed on Sunday morning.

The controversy was sparked by a report in in the New York Daily News.

According to the report, Smith allegedly has a history of singing songs with racist language, such as "Pickaninny Heaven" and "That's Why Darkies Were Born." The New York Yankees say they will also no longer use Smith's renditon of "God Bless America".