The Dallas Mavericks played the national anthem before a home game against the Atlanta Hawks, hours after Mark Cuban, a billionaire team owner, conceded to the NBA’s demand that the song be played at all games.
A recorded version of the Star-Spangled Banner was played ahead of Wednesday night’s game at American Airlines Center while Mavericks and Hawks players and staff stood on the track.
When the national anthem ended, the crowd erupted in applause and cheers. The Mavericks currently allow 1,500 fans at home games, with tickets available for vaccinated health care and essential workers.
It comes hours after the NBA issued a powerful statement that ‘all teams will play the national anthem’, which had to force Cubans to turn off course after announcing that the practice would be stopped and saying that the Star-Spangled Banner does not represent ‘all communities’.
A recorded version of the Star-Spangled Banner was played at the American Airlines Center before Wednesday night’s game, while Mavericks and Hawks’ players and staff lined up.
It comes hours after the NBA issued a powerful statement saying ‘all teams will play the national anthem’, forcing Cubans to turn off course after banning the country’s song.
Mark Cuban, owner of Dallas Mavericks (pictured), said he told the team to stop playing the national anthem before their home games this season. “It was my decision, and I made it in November,” Cuban told The Athletic on Tuesday without elaborating. [File photo]
Cuban announced his own statement on Wednesday afternoon: “We always respect and respect the passion that people have for the national anthem and our country. But we also hear the voices of those who feel that the national anthem does not represent it.
“We feel their voices need to be respected and heard because it was not. Our hope is that people going forward will take the same passion for this issue and use the same amount of energy to listen to those who feel differently about them. Only then can we move forward and have courageous conversations that move this country forward and find what unites us. ‘
The league’s initial reaction to the Cuban national anthem ban was to say that teams were free to do pre – matches as they wished with the unusual circumstances that caused the coronavirus pandemic. Most teams do not have fans at home matches.
But the NBA suddenly reversed the course with the decision of Cubans echoing nationwide, including a question posed to White House press secretary Jen Psaki during her daily briefing.
Athletes protesting about social and racial injustice during ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ became a hotbed between then-President Donald Trump and various leagues during his administration.
“As NBA teams now want to welcome fans back into their arena, all teams will play the national anthem in line with the long-standing league policy,” the league said.
The Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks, along with a limited attendance of fans while playing the national anthem before the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas
Graphics of the American flag were displayed on the jumbotron while the national anthem was played on Wednesday
When the national anthem ended, the crowd erupted in applause and cheers. The Mavericks currently allow 1,500 fans at home games
The Mavericks have said they will play the national anthem against Atlanta from Wednesday night, with a statement.
“We always respect and respect the passion that people have for the national anthem and our country,” Cuban said. ‘But we also hear the voices of those who feel that the national anthem does not represent it. We feel that their voices should be respected and heard because it was not.
“Our hope is that in the future, people will take the same passion as they do for this issue and use the same amount of energy to listen to those who feel differently,” he said. “Then we can move forward and have courageous talks that move this country forward and find what unites us.”
The Mavericks played their first ten games of the regular season without fans before allowing 1,500 vaccinated essential workers to attend Monday’s game against Minnesota for free.
Cuban at the time did not want to elaborate on his decision not to play the national anthem, except to say that no one noticed it after 11 home games in the regular season.
The move was not without support among NBA coaches.
“It has to happen everywhere,” New Orleans coach Stan Van Gundy tweeted Wednesday. ‘If you think the national anthem should be played before sporting events, then play it before every movie, concert, church service and the beginning of every business day at every business. What good reason is there to play the national anthem before a match? ‘
The question posed by Van Gundy has been discussed for some time.
The NBA has issued a statement saying that all teams will play the national anthem in accordance with the long league policy to do so.
Mark Cuban said he hopes people will take the opportunity to listen to others with different views on the subject
The NBA Rulebook does not specifically state that the national anthem – or national anthems – in games involving the Toronto Raptors, the only Canadian team in the league, must be played before matches.
The only rule regarding the songs is: “Players, coaches and coaches must stand in a dignified attitude along the dirty lines and line up while playing American and / or Canadian folk songs.”
The rule was relaxed last year in the NBA restart bubble at Walt Disney World, when the league had no objection to players kneeling for the national anthem to show their desire for an end to racial injustice and police brutality .
Players were criticized for kneeling; some of those who stood, such as Miami’s Meyers Leonard and Jonathan Isaac of Orlando, also came across on social media because they chose to stand.
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, a graduate of the Air Force Academy and coach of the American men’s team, also stood for folk songs in the bubble.
In an interview with ESPN, Cuban said it was never his intention to stop the national anthem forever. The outspoken billionaire said the issue is part of ongoing talks with people in the community and the league, especially as fans begin to return to arenas.
Dallas Mavericks players and coaches kneel in protest of racism ahead of a playoff game on Aug. 30 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, where the NBA season ended amid the pandemic. Owner Mark Cuban initially said he expected his players to stand for the national anthem, but after police killed George Floyd on May 25, he supported protesters by voice.
“We have no problem playing the national anthem,” Cuban said. “I stand for the national anthem. My hand is always over my heart. The real issue is how you represent the voices of those who feel that the national anthem does not represent them, or that it upsets them. ‘
Psaki said she did not speak to President Joe Biden about the issue.
“I know he is incredibly proud of an American and has great respect for the national anthem and all that it represents,” Psaki said. “Of course he would also say that a part of pride in our country means acknowledging where we as a country have not lived up to our highest ideals.”
The setback in not playing the national anthem was rapid in the Texas Capitol, where Republican Lieutenant General Dan Patrick encouraged Cubans to “sell the franchise and some Texas Patriots will buy it.”
Other GOP lawmakers have suggested that the tax cuts the American Airlines Center receives should be scrutinized.
Patrick said he plans to introduce a bill in the Texas Senate that will ensure that the national anthem is played at all events that receive public funding. He said the bill has broad support.
“It’s hard to believe it could happen in Texas, but Mark Cuban’s actions yesterday made it clear that we need to specify that we should play the national anthem in Texas before all major events,” Patrick said.
“In this age in which so many things divide us, sport is one thing that brings us together: right, left, black, white and brown.”