Lynyrd Skynyrd has a change of heart. The Southern rockers previously announced they would end the band's 40-year tradition of using the Confederate flag as a backdrop for their live shows. But they listened to the opinions of their outspoken fans, and now say they will continue to use the controversial banner.

"I wanted to clarify the discussion of the Confederate Flag in our recent CNN interview," band member Gary Rossington shares on Skynyrd's official website. "Myself, the past and present members (that are from the South), are all extremely proud of our heritage and being from the South. We know what the Dixie flag represents and its heritage; the Civil War was fought over States rights.

"We still utilize the Confederate (Rebel) flag on stage every night in our shows, we are and always will be a Southern American Rock band, first and foremost," the guitarist continues. "We also utilize the state flag of Alabama and the American flag, because at the end of the day, we are all Americans. I only stated my opinion that the Confederate flag, at times, was unfairly being used as a symbol by various hate groups, which is something that we don't support the flag being used for. The Confederate flag means something more to us, Heritage not Hate."

The "Sweet Home Alabama" singers originally said they had stopped using the flag because of the prevalence of the flag as a symbol with certain racist groups.

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