Protests taking place during the national anthem have become a massive subject of interest in the world of sports. This has been especially true in the NFL, where these protests have been used as a sign of unity among players, coaches, and owners after a series of inflammatory comments by the President of the United States.
This has made it so the act of dropping to a knee during the national anthem is about the NFL. It is happening as a way for many of those in the league to say that they stand with the sport of football against the President, who in response, has tried to make this into a debate about what the flag of the United States of America represents, namely that “disrespecting” it by kneeling means you’re disrespecting the military. When Colin Kaepernick drew attention because he sat during the anthem last year before a preseason game, it wasn’t because of anything to do with the military. It was to protest something extremely important — injustice in the United States, especially towards African Americans.
Basically, “protests” during the national anthem in the NFL have lost the plot, even if some are standing up against injustice. So now we turn to the NBA, where the New York Knicks released a statement which revealed that their version of a protest during the anthem follows Kaepernick’s lead.
https://twitter.com/NY_KnicksPR/status/915347565180329995
It’s been a weird day for the Knicks because of Fox Sports 1’s bizarre marketing campaign that involves putting a bunch of takes on the subway, but with a preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night, the basketball court can let the team take its mind off of that minor distraction.
Still, some things are way more important than playing basketball, and New York wants to use the national anthem as a way to highlight those on Monday night.
