NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sent a memo out to teams on Friday, September 29, in which he recommends alternatives to protests while reminding players heading into the 2017-18 season that they must stand during the National Anthem.
Players from around the league were mobilized to defend former MVP, Steph Curry after Donald Trump disinvited him from the White House one week ago. Dozens took to social media to openly denounce the President for singling Curry out only one day after he sparked an outcry with remarks that vilified National Anthem protesters during a speech in Alabama. The weekend wound up capping off with a phenomenal wave of dissent that presented itself with players from around the NFL taking a knee and standing with their arms linked as a unified gesture in opposition to Trump's stance.
The question as to whether protests might cross over into the NBA has permeated since the lead-up to the 2017 season when at the time various NFL stars were kneeling, raising fists, and locking arms. In Friday's memo, Silver suggests that teams demonstrate a "commitment to the NBA's core values of equality, diversity, inclusion and serve as a unifying force in the community," but urges them to do so by recording unifying PSA's that can be played prior to games.
Source: nydailynews.com
