NBA players kneel for the national anthem. President Trump says ‘it’s disgraceful.’
President Donald Trump made an appearance on “Fox and Friends,” on Wednesday via a phone interview.
During his appearance lasting more than 50 minutes, Trump was asked about NBA players kneeling for the national anthem after their season resumed in Orlando.
Only two players, the Heat’s Meyers Leonard and the Magic’s Jonathan Isaac, have stood for the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” which plays before each game.
“I think it’s disgraceful,” Trump said on the show. “I think it’s disgraceful. We work with [the NBA]. We work very hard trying to get them open. I was pushing them to get open. And then I see everyone kneeling during the anthem. It’s not acceptable to me. When I see them kneeling, I just turn off the game. I have no interest in the game. And let me tell you this, plenty of other people out there too.”
Trump also said nobody has done more for the Black community than him.
“With the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln, it’s true,” Trump said. “Criminal justice reform, opportunities zone, best employment numbers in history. Every single one I’ve done. Again, nobody has done more for the Black community by far. I would say nobody, other than I’ll give the one exception: Abraham Lincoln. OK? But even that, I mean to be honest with you.
“When I see people kneeling during the playing and disrespecting our flag and disrespecting our national anthem, what I do, personally, is turn off the game. And the ratings for the basketball are way down, if you know. And I hear some others are way down, including baseball. Because all of the sudden, now baseball’s is in the act (of kneeling). We have to stand up for our flag. We have to stand up for our country. We have to stand up for our anthem. And a lot of people agree with me. Hey, if I’m wrong, I’m going to lose an election. OK. And that’s OK with me. But I will always stand for our country and for our flag.”
In the past, Trump criticized NFL players for kneeling for the national anthem.
J.J. Redick, who plays for the New Orleans Pelicans, responded to Trump’s stance on kneeling for the anthem last week, which the president had tweeted about July 21.
““First of all, I don’t think anybody in the NBA cares if President Trump watches basketball. I couldn’t care less,” Redick told Yahoo Sports last Thursday. “As far as his base, I think regardless of the specificity of tweeting about the NBA, every tweet of his is meant to divide, every tweet is meant to incite, every tweet is meant to embolden his base. So [last week] was no different.”
Leonard, a center with the Heat, wore a “Black Lives Matter,” shirt last Saturday when he stood for the anthem and subsequently explained his decision through several tweets on social media site Twitter.
“Today, I listened to my heart,” he tweeted. “I felt an overwhelming amount of emotion as I stood there during the National Anthem. My brother, and many close friends have sworn to protect this country at all costs, and that means something to me, as does the flag and our nation. The Black Lives Matter movement also means a hell of a lot to me. What has been and continues to go on in our country is inexcusable and flat out wrong. I will continue to use my voice, my platform and my family’s resources to commit to helping make a change. I’m incredibly thankful for the love and support from my teammates, the Miami Heat organization, my family, and friends who know me. They know my heart and where I stand. I’ll leave you with this - it’s OKAY to be BOTH. I can stand proud in my beliefs and also support BLM.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told the Herald that Leonard “has the backing of everybody in the locker room.”
Isaac, a former IMG Academy and Florida State star, explained his decision to stand for the anthem as well, two days before he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and was lost for the season.
Following a victory last Friday, Isaac, who is Black, was asked in a post-game press conference if Black lives matter, according to ESPN.
“Absolutely,” Isaac said. “I believe that Black lives matter. A lot went into my decision and part of it is my thought that kneeling while wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt don’t go hand in hand with supporting Black lives. And so I felt like, just me personally and what it is that I believe in, standing on a stance that I do believe that Black lives matter, but I just felt like it was a decision that I had to make and I didn’t feel like putting that shirt on went hand in hand with supporting Black lives.”
Isaac continued: “I don’t think that kneeling or putting on a T-shirt for me, personally, is the answer. I feel like for me Black lives are supported through the Gospel. All lives are supported through the Gospel. That we all have things that we do wrong and sometimes it gets into a place of pointing fingers about which wrong is worse.
“I feel like the Bible tells us we all fall short of God’s glory and at the end of the day whoever will humble themselves and seek God and repent of their sins that we could see it in a different light -- see our mistakes and people’s mistakes in a different light, see people’s evil in a different light. And that it would help bring us closer together and get past anything that’s on the surface that doesn’t really deal with the hearts of men and women.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 5:30 PM.
