The NBA finally returned, and before the league’s first restart game, players from both teams joined coaches and umpires to kneel down during the national anthem.
The league had to switch to a bubble format in Orlando, Florida, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and after nationwide protests, following the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd, players have focused on justice. social as well as the Black Lives Matter Movement.
The New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz players, as well as the referees for the game, made a statement Thursday before the start of the game. During a prerecorded version of the national anthem, everyone on the court knelt, while some players closed their arms and others raised their fists in the air.
Both Pelicans and Jazz released statements on the matter.
“The New Orleans Pelicans uphold the ideals of free speech and the right to protest peacefully. Collectively with the Utah Jazz, our organization joins the NBA in supporting our players and coaches,” the Pelicans wrote.
The Jazz added: “The Utah Jazz are committed to advancing social justice and supporting players, coaches and staff as they exercise their First Amendment rights, use their voices, their experiences and their platforms to express themselves peacefully.”
The NBA has had a rule that dates back to the early 1980s: Players must represent the national anthem. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, anticipating that players would kneel during these games at Walt Disney World, made it clear that he supported the peaceful protests.
“I respect the unified act of peaceful protest by our teams for social justice and, in these unique circumstances, I will not enforce our old rule that requires us to remain during the execution of our national anthem,” Silver told reporters on Thursday.
Many players warmed up wearing “Black Lives Matter” shirts. Thursday also marked the debut of new shirts with messages that many players chose to add, such as “Equality” and “Peace.”
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NBA players have used their platforms, both in the bubble and on social media, to demand equality and justice. Coaches have also said that it behooves them to demand change and educate themselves and others. The pre-game actions by Jazz and Pelicans were just the beginning of what is expected to be a constant for the rest of this season.
“It took a long time to get this momentum going,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said in a video he broadcast before the game, a project organized by the NBA and the National Association of Basketball Players. “You can not lose”.
New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said he appreciated the accidental symmetry that emerged from the first games of the restarted season, just hours after the funeral of Rep. John Lewis, the civil rights icon who died July 17 at 80 years.
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Lewis spent most of his life defending equality and was the youngest speaker at the 1963 March in Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a dream” speech. Gentry said he believes this movement, like the one Lewis helped provoke six decades ago, will last.
“If you talk to some of the younger generations, I think it’s here to stay. I really do,” Gentry said. “I have a 20-year-old son and a 22-year-old son, and I know they feel this is the most opportune time for us to try to change in this country.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
