Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac became the first NBA player to stand during the national anthem before a game while inside the Orlando bubble.
On Monday afternoon members of both the Nets and the Magic kneeled during the anthem in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) July 31, 2020
Isaac was the only person who chose to stand while also not wearing a Black Lives Matter-related shirt.
— Orlando Magic Daily (@OMagicDaily) July 31, 2020
All the remaining coaches, players, and members of both teams took a knee. pic.twitter.com/i2yy8qCPn3
— Top Ball Coverage (@TopBallCoverage) July 31, 2020
(h/t @TopBallCoverage ) pic.twitter.com/WSevfbolxl
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) July 31, 2020
A day before the season started NBA legend Charles Barkley urged people to not judge players who chose not to kneel.
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) July 30, 2020
The national anthem means different things to different people. I’m glad these guys are all unified but if people don’t kneel they’re not a bad person. I want to make that perfectly clear, I’m glad they have unity, but if we have a guy who doesn’t want to kneel because the anthem means something to him he should not be vilified.
We’ll see how players/fans react to Isaac’s decision to stand later today.
