On Wednesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers played the Utah Jazz. During the playing of the National Anthem, Dion Waiters went missing—in fact, he skipped the anthem altogether. No one really noticed until Friday night when the Northeast Media Group asked Waiters about it.
It’s because of my religion,” Waiters told NEOMG. “That’s why I stayed in the locker room.”
Waiters says he is rededicating himself more to his Muslim faith. He appears to be in a happier state.
Um, uh-oh. That’s probably going to make people mad.
“I don’t really want to talk about that, my religion,” he said. “I don’t really want to talk about that. I want to talk about basketball.”
And here’s the weird thing. On Friday night against the Nuggets, Waiters was back on the court standing for the National Anthem. So I’m not sure where he’s at with his Muslim faith, but for now, it appears on shaky ground.
Also, what does this say for the thousands of Muslims protecting this country in our armed forces? Or for the millions of Muslims who call themselves proud American citizens? I sincerely hope Waiters is prepared to answer these questions. I sincerely hope he’s well versed in Islamic doctrine. Otherwise this could get real ugly, real fast.
UPDATE: Waiters hit back on social media, called EVERYONE a liar.
Call me crazy but there’s no way a reporter made up a quote about someone’s religious principles. No way. That’s career suicide right there. Waiters should probably take a break from the computer for awhile.
