The Dallas Mavericks stopped playing the national anthem before home games, in the direction of owner Mark Cuban, ESPN confirmed on Tuesday.
The Mavericks do not intend to resume the tradition of singing the national anthem before the games in the future.
The Cuban, who declined to comment, made the decision after consulting with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The Mavericks did not announce the policy change, but the national anthem was not played before any of the 13 regular season and pre-season games at the American Airlines Center this season.
No other players, coaches or staff mentioned the change, according to a team source.
The NBA rules require players to sit during the national anthem, but Silver has refused to apply that rule, especially since kneeling during the anthem has become a popular way to protest social injustice in recent years. The vast majority of NBA players and many coaches knelt during the national anthem during the NBA replay last summer in Orlando, Florida, when the league incorporated messages supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and other social justice causes into court design and other ways.
“I recognize that this is a very emotional issue on both sides of the American equation right now, and I think it requires real commitment rather than enforcement,” Silver said at a December news conference.
In a June interview with ESPN’s Outside the Lines, the Cuban expressed support for players kneeling during the national anthem as a form of protest.
“If they would get on their knees and be respectful, I would be proud of them. I hope I would join them,” said the Cuban.
The Cuban added then that he hopes that the league “will allow the players to do what is in their heart”.
“Whether he keeps his arm in the air or takes his knee, whatever it is, I don’t think this is a matter of respect or disrespect for the flag, the anthem or our country,” the Cuban said. “I think this is more a reflection of our players’ commitment to this country and the fact that it is so important to them that they are willing to say what they have in their hearts and do what they think is right.
“I will postpone [Silver] on any final decisions and [players’ union executive director] Michele Roberts. But the reality is that my hope is that we will let the players do exactly what they think is the best thing to do. “
In 2017, the Cuban expressed another opinion after President Donald Trump criticized NFL players who were kneeling during the anthem to protest social injustice and police brutality.
“This is America and I am proud of the people who speak civilly. That is us as a country,” the Cuban said at the time. “I will sit there with my hand over my heart. I think the players will be [standing]. I expect it to be. “
Three years later, as the Black Lives Matter movement continued to grow, the Cuban explained what changed his mindset.
“Because I think I’ve learned a lot from 2017,” he told OTL in June. “I think we have evolved as a country. And this is truly a unique time when we can grow as a society, we can grow as a country and become much more inclusive and more aware of the challenges that minority communities are going through.
“So I will be in unison with our players, whatever they choose to do. But again, when our NBA players do what they have in their hearts, when they do what they feel they are and they are looking to move this country forward. when it comes to race, I think it’s a beautiful thing and I’ll be proud of it. “