Haven’t you heard of any national anthem protests at the Mavericks games? There’s a good reason for this: Dallas will no longer be and won’t play “The Star-Spangled Banner”.
Mark Cuban told Athletic that it was his decision to eliminate the tradition of playing the anthem before games. The move went unnoticed through the first 13 combined preseason and regular season games at the American Airlines Center because the Mavericks did not make it public, either within the organization or through an ad in the media. The first game in which the Mavericks allowed a limited number of fans to enter their field was held on Monday.
The Cuban has expressed his support for those who wish to kneel during the reproduction of the national anthem, the practice that began former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016 and became a lightning rod for political debate supporters.
The frank owner of the Mavericks told ESPN last July that his team’s players could kneel during the anthem: “If they were on their knees and were respectful, I would be proud of them” and hoped he would “join -You are there “. Later, in response to what he called “The National Anthem Police,” he tweeted that if critics of the nonviolent protest of systemic racism in the United States were questioned, they could “complain in your head and ask “Why don’t they play the National Anthem every day before they start working?”
While NBA rules require players to stand up during the play of the anthem, Commissioner Adam Silver has chosen to bypass the rule to support his players ’decisions to express themselves.
“I recognize that this is a very emotional issue for both sides of the equation in the United States right now,” Silver said during a press conference in December, “and I think he calls for a real commitment rather than enforcing the rules. “.