BUENA VISTA LAKE, Fla. – Last week, as the NBA was preparing for a resumption of the historic season after a four-month hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump issued a warning to his account. Twitter who knelt during the national anthem game would be a “sign of great disrespect” and added that the game would “be over for me!”
I can’t wait to play live sports, but every time I see a player on his knees during the national anthem, a sign of great lack of respect for our country and our flag, the game is over for me!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2020
On Thursday, the opening day of the restart, all four teams that played – Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans – knelt solidly around the “Black Lives Matter” logo on the field to peacefully protest against the breed injustice and brutality of the police.
Referees also attended the event.
Trump has a solid and sizable base, which could follow suit and potentially cause a drop in NBA ratings.
Pelican sharpshooter JJ Redick, a white player who wears the social justice message “Say Their Names” on the back of his shirt, has long been an ally of his black teammates and has expressed his contempt for injustice that black people face in America, had this answer to Trump’s warning.
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“First of all, I don’t think anyone in the NBA cares if President Trump watches basketball. I couldn’t care less, “Redick told Yahoo Sports on Thursday evening after a 106-104 loss to Jazz. “As for its base, I think regardless of the specificity of the NBA tweet, each of its tweets is destined to divide, each tweet is intended to incite, each tweet is intended to encourage its base. So [last week] it was no different. “
The NBA has been criticized by the president and elected officials and fans for allowing players to inject “politics” into an entertainment sphere. Players argue that these problems are not political; they are a human rights issue – inequalities that have lived and that have remained unresolved for hundreds of years.
The tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless other black people at the hands of law enforcement are what intensified the “Black Lives Matter” movement to the point where people from all walks of life across the country have he felt an obligation to protest on behalf of the oppressed.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made a statement shortly after Jazz and pelicans protested peacefully: “I respect our teams’ unified act of peaceful protest for social justice and in these unique circumstances they will not enforce our longstanding rule which requires you to remain standing while performing our national anthem. “
On his knees, LeBron James raised his right hand with a ball punch in greeting to the “black power”. He remembered Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two African American athletes who raised their fists during the medal ceremony during the 1968 Olympics anthem in Mexico City.
James is aware that he and his colleagues will be convicted of their vocal positions and demonstrations.
“There will always be people who don’t agree with what you’re doing,” said James after a 103-101 victory over the Clippers. “Regardless of what you do in life, you will always have people trying to separate whatever you do. If you are passionate, true and authentic for whatever your cause, then it doesn’t matter. I couldn’t care less than opponents. I have felt it for too long. “
In the Disney bubble, teams are expected to continue this method of peaceful protest during the anthem. For some fans, it will shut them down, while others may listen with an open mind and still others will wholeheartedly support the request for change.
The players, and in particular Colin Kaepernick, have stressed over and over that kneeling has never disrespected the flag or the troops that serve this country. (Kneeling was even suggested to Kaepernick by a former green cap.) It is a question of considering this great country responsible for the injustices that plague the black community.
James said he hoped Kaepernick was proud of the players’ demonstration, which recognizes him as the mainstay of this movement.
Regardless, the backlash will come. Will the NBA be able to resist the economic blow? We will all see.
“Look, we want people to have fun with the NBA and we love our fans, but I think there must be some level of acceptance and recognition in what our league is saying, what our league is doing and what it is doing. going on in this country, “Redick told Yahoo Sports. “And people who aren’t willing to recognize it, maybe they shouldn’t be fans.”
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