Discourse over national anthem looms for NBA, other leagues
Associated Press
FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2017, file photo, from left, Paul George, Andre Roberson, Carmelo Anthony and Josh Heustis link arms during the playing of the national anthem before an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks in Oklahoma City. Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle isn't sure what to expect from players during the national anthem when the NBA season resumes in empty arenas late this month in Florida. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
FILE - In this June 27, 2020, file phohto, Chicago Red Stars' Julie Ertz, second from left, holds Casey Short, center, while other players for the team kneel during the national anthem before an NWSL Challenge Cup soccer match against the Washington Spirit at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. The National Women's Soccer League revised its anthem policy after most players knelt during the anthem before season-opening games last weekend at the Challenge Cup. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
FILE - In this June 7, 2020, file photo, a NASCAR official kneels during the national anthem before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. The largest auto racing series in North America for years had specific guidance for its teams to stand, helmetless and hatless, with right hands over the heart during the anthem. That language was removed less than a month ago as NASCAR goes through a reckoning of its own. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 2, 2016, file photo, then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, in Santa Clara, Calif. Because Kaepernick was the first to kneel during the anthem to bring attention to social causes, the NFL has always been at the epicenter of the debate. League policy at the time was murky on whether players were required to stand. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
Kneeling during the national anthem is a hot topic in pro sports again as America gets set to celebrate a pandemic-clouded Fourth of July holiday.
The NBA has required players to stand during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” for nearly 40 years. The question is how many will kneel assuming the season resumes late this month near Orlando, Florida.
Colin Kaepernick started the movement nearly four years ago to protest racial inequality and police mistreatment of minorities.
The NFL could see more kneeling in the fall. It’s already happened in the women’s soccer league.
