Discourse over national anthem looms for NBA, other leagues

Rick Carlisle isn't sure what to expect from players during the national anthem when the NBA season resumes in empty arenas in Florida.

The Dallas Mavericks coach does know how he will react if players kneel or otherwise violate a longtime league policy that requires them to stand during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“We support our players 100% in terms of their ability to express themselves individually or as a group if they wish,” Carlisle said. "I don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like in Orlando. There could be different forms of expression. But our country is a free country.”

The death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police in May sparked fresh questions across sports about kneeling during the anthem and the gesture has been seen from European soccer to North American auto racing. Former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the latest movement in 2016, saying he was protesting racial inequality and police mistreatment of minorities.

Since sports resumed following Floyd's death, players have knelt worldwide, at professional and even youth sporting events. And NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said the league was wrong not to acknowledge the right of its players to peacefully protest, a move that perhaps prompted new criticism from President Donald Trump, who has long opposed kneeling during the anthem.

There's no indication of any leagues skipping the anthem despite empty venues.

“It's kind of a declaration we’re still here,” said Adrian Burgos Jr., a University of Illinois history professor who has studied issues of minorities in pro sports. “This is how much the anthem has become part of the pageantry of spectator sports in the United States.”

On the eve of the Fourth of July holiday,...

source https://www.chron.com/news/article/Discourse-over-national-anthem-looms-for-NBA-15384969.php