Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban just confirmed to ‘The Athletic’ that his team will no longer play the national anthem prior to home games at the American Airlines Center. So far, the Star-Spangled Banner hasn’t been played before the team’s 13 preseason and regular-season home games and it doesn’t look like that will change in the foreseeable future.
The Mavericks didn’t publicize the removal of the song prior to games, but ‘The Athletic’ reached out to the team after Monday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which was the first game with a small number of fans in the stands. Cuban has been vocal in his support for those wishing to kneel during the national anthem, something that was started by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016 and became a lightning rod for partisan political debate.
Cuban told ESPN last July that he would be proud of his team for “taking a knee” and told “The National Anthem Police” that if they had such an issue with it, then they could complain to their boss and ask why they don’t play the National Anthem every day before work. However, the NBA seemed to derail any of Mark Cuban’s plans to cause a ripple effect in pro sports teams striking the U.S anthem from the pre-game.
NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass released an official statement requiring all teams to play the national anthem before games: “With NBA teams now in the process of welcoming back fans into their arenas, all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy.” Cuban then told The New York Times that he was “good with it.”
While teams are permitted to run their pregame operations as they see fit, Cuban issued another statement saying his team would play the anthem during their home game that night against the Atlanta Hawks. “We respect and always have respect the passion people have for the anthem and our country,” the statement began. “I have always stood for the anthem with the hand over my heart – no matter where I hear it played,” he said.
Though it’s not clear what prompted the reversal, liberals and their cancel culture have gone too far. Not having the National Anthem is a disrespect to the fallen military, police, and everyday heroes, who have given their lives for us. The National Anthem isn’t about any particular individual, but a country and the struggles it has gone through over time.
@mcuban is about to go from 'woke' to broke. https://t.co/7KrExJ9YDI
— American Conservatives (@AmConservatives) February 11, 2021
The left is trying to negate all of the improvements we’ve made by learning from our past mistakes. They’ll go through every flag, song, or word, just to find something to be offended about. What a way to live.
