During football season, we’ve had plenty of different demonstrations by football players during the national anthem. We’ve also seen quite a bit of backlash.
But with the NBA’s regular season starting in just a matter of days, our eyes turn to basketball to see how players in the NBA handle themselves during the national anthem.
On Tuesday, we saw the Sacramento Kings’ answer. Prior to their preseason matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, members of the Kings linked arms while the national anthem was being played.
As you can imagine, there were reactions from all sides of this issue. When SportsCenter tweeted out the video of Sacramento’s silent protest, there was plenty of vitriol regarding the incident. The reaction is no different from what we’ve seen when players such as Colin Kaepernick have protested the anthem, even though the Kings opted for a gentler, Seahawks-style way of making a statement.
With the NBA being filled with non-white superstars, they will likely be watched throughout the season to see how they handle the anthem. We’ve already found out that players such as David West have been protesting the anthem for some time now, and LeBron James said he respects what Kaepernick is doing but will not kneel during the anthem. It will be interesting to see how players, teams and the league handle this matter going forward.
[ESPN]