To: Adam Silver, Commissioner, NBA, Mark Tatum, Deputy Commissioner, NBA, and National Basketball Players Association
NBA: Update your anthem policy
In the National Basketball Association (NBA), players and teams don't even have the option to stay in the locker room--rather it mandates all players, coaches, and trainers must "stand respectfully" for the anthem. I urge the NBA to review this policy, live up to its image as a more open and forward-thinking sports league, and create a new anthem policy that supports the First Amendment right to free speech.
Why is this important?
I am a big fan of basketball, and I've appreciated how on numerous occasions, the National Basketball Association has exemplified an openness to support players' and coaches' First Amendment rights to address important political and social issues. The league supported LeBron James and his teammates' protest of police brutality. The league has supported players speaking up about mental health issues. Some coaches are more outspoken against Donald Trump's extreme policies of nationalism, racism, and hate than most elected Democrats.
That's why I was horrified when I learned that in light of the National Football League's (NFL) terrible new national anthem policy, the NBA's policy is even worse: mandating that all players, coaches, and trainers must "stand respectfully" for the anthem. The deputy commissioner even went so far as to send a memo prior to the the 2017/2018 season to all teams, notifying them that they "do not have discretion" to waive the rule for their players and staff.
Recently, Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr criticized the NFL's new policy:
"They’re just playing to their fanbase, and they’re just basically trying to use the anthem as fake patriotism. Nationalism, scaring people, it’s idiotic, but that’s how the NFL has handled their business. I’m proud to be in a league that understands patriotism in America is about free speech, about peacefully protesting, and our leadership in the NBA understands that the NFL players who were kneeling, were kneeling to protest police brutality, protest racial inequality. They weren't disrespecting the flag or the military, but our President decided to make it about that."
This is well spoken by Kerr, but it rings hollow because it's not true. Long before Colin Kaepernick, the NBA dealt with its own high-profile anthem controversy. Forward Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf didn’t stand for the song in 1996, because he views the flag as a symbol of oppression. As a result, Abdul-Rauf was fined $31,707.
And to this day, they have an explicit policy against kneeling during the anthem.
That's why I was horrified when I learned that in light of the National Football League's (NFL) terrible new national anthem policy, the NBA's policy is even worse: mandating that all players, coaches, and trainers must "stand respectfully" for the anthem. The deputy commissioner even went so far as to send a memo prior to the the 2017/2018 season to all teams, notifying them that they "do not have discretion" to waive the rule for their players and staff.
Recently, Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr criticized the NFL's new policy:
"They’re just playing to their fanbase, and they’re just basically trying to use the anthem as fake patriotism. Nationalism, scaring people, it’s idiotic, but that’s how the NFL has handled their business. I’m proud to be in a league that understands patriotism in America is about free speech, about peacefully protesting, and our leadership in the NBA understands that the NFL players who were kneeling, were kneeling to protest police brutality, protest racial inequality. They weren't disrespecting the flag or the military, but our President decided to make it about that."
This is well spoken by Kerr, but it rings hollow because it's not true. Long before Colin Kaepernick, the NBA dealt with its own high-profile anthem controversy. Forward Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf didn’t stand for the song in 1996, because he views the flag as a symbol of oppression. As a result, Abdul-Rauf was fined $31,707.
And to this day, they have an explicit policy against kneeling during the anthem.