To kick off the rest of the season in the NBA, all Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans players knelt down just before the US national anthem was played. The basketball players also wore black T-shirts with white letters and the slogan “Black lives matter”. All coaches, coaches and referees visible on TV also took part in the symbolic protest against racism and police violence against African Americans and knelt down.
The recorded variant of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was an instrumental version without the usual text. In the game, many players wore messages instead of their names on the jersey.
The kneeling during the anthem as a form of protest goes back to football professional Colin Kaepernick, who demonstrated in 2016 as quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers.
The Utah Jazz for the first NBA professional Rudy Gobert, who tested positive for the corona virus, were the tight winners of the game in the end. Despite a comfortable two-digit lead by the Pelicans for a long time, the jazz finally got a 106: 104. Gobert’s Corona positive test triggered the NBA season break in March – now the Utah Jazz basketball player scored the first basket when the league returned.
For the losing team around young star Zion Williamson, this was a direct defeat when trying to qualify for the playoffs.
