As the NBA season approaches, there are questions aplenty about how 2017-18 will go down on the court. Most of those questions are about the actual basketball, like how will all of the new-look teams fare with new stars on board and can anyone present a challenge for the Warriors.
There is one question that pertains not to basketball being played on the court, but what players do prior to the game. Will players lodge protests during the national anthem? To this point in the preseason, most teams have locked arms, with some like the Knicks releasing statements expressing exactly what their message is in doing so, but to this point no one has taken a knee like we’ve seen in the NFL.
The NBA itself has found the issue of protests and the anthem to be a tricky spot. The league has a rule about standing during the anthem, one that teams were reminded of in a recent memo. However, the NBA has also been vocal in support of its players speaking out on social issues, and enforcing the anthem rule has been considered by some hypocritical. The league has offered to help players use their platform to speak out and even suggested players delivering a message to the crowd prior to games.
Still, there are some that feel players should follow in the footsteps of Colin Kaepernick and others in the NFL in kneeling during the anthem to send a stronger message. Apparently, Kobe Bryant is among those people, as he recently told the Hollywood Reporter on their podcast he would kneel during the anthem if he were still in the league (around the 1:05:00 mark of the podcast).
“If you were still in the league and had a game tonight, and it came time for the national anthem to be played, what would you do?”
“Kneel.”
Bryant didn’t hesitate at all when asked, as they went through a rapid fire series of questions. We’ve yet to see any players kneel in the NBA during the anthem dating back to last year, but in the current climate it’s possible. The league has not said what it would do in that situation, but they would certainly have a decision to make and need to think seriously about the message they send in response.
Kobe was also asked what advice he’d give Donald Trump if he were able, to which he responded, “focus on serving, not leading.”
