Like Orlando winger Jonathan Isaac earlier Friday, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich did not kneel during the American anthem, unlike other NBA players and coaches who chose to protest against racial injustice that way. Popovich, whose voice is one of the most influential in the league and who has delivered very strong messages in favor of the Black Lives Matter movement, donned like everyone else a long-sleeved t-shirt with the effigy of these words and remained standing during the "Star Spangled Banner", just like his assistant Becky Hammond.
"I'd rather keep this to myself," the 71-year-old technician replied to an ESPN reporter asking why he preferred to stand. “Everyone has to make a personal decision. The league has been great about it. Everyone has the freedom to react as they see fit. For all the reasons that are personal to me, I acted as I wanted ”. Earlier before his team's game against Sacramento, Popovich said that “racial equality in America is a memory and a bit of a celebration in some ways. It seems strange because we are not there yet, but it is still important to remember what happened and what the black population is currently going through (...) There is still a lot to do. I think this is our national sin ”.
"I just felt that getting down on my knees or wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt was not essential to support this movement."
Jonathan IsaacEarlier in the afternoon, Orlando winger Jonathan Isaac was the first to opt out of the knee before his side won over Brooklyn. He wasn't wearing the Black Lives Matter t-shirt either, but his white Magic jersey. Afterwards, the 22-year-old African-American player assured that he “absolutely” supports Black Lives Matter. “I just felt that getting on my knees or wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt was not essential to support this movement. Everyone is made in the image of God and we are all far from living up to the glory of God, ”commented Isaac, a practicing Christian who sometimes preaches in a non-denominational church in Orlando.
The Orlando Magic's Jonathan Isaac is the first player to stand for the national anthem amid the return of the NBA. pic.twitter.com/yKW7c1Zj5y
- Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) July 31, 2020"Each of us does things we shouldn't do and says things we shouldn't say, we don't like people we shouldn't hate ... When you look around you, racism doesn't t is not the only thing which torments our society, which torments our nation, which torments our world, ”he continued. Before concluding: “I find myself in this message, not only on racism, but everything that afflicts our society. I have the feeling that our answer to this is the Gospel ”. Black Lives Matter, which appears on the floor at all matches at Disney World, is one of the main slogans that has been heard in the streets in the United States since the death of George Floyd, asphyxiated during his arrest by the police in Minneapolis on May 25.
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