The national anthem will be played again before every game in Dallas and every NBA arena, the league announced today.
NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass issued the following statement today concerning the league’s rule on playing the national anthem:
“With NBA teams now in the process of welcoming fans back into their arenas, all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy.”
Since the beginning of the season, Dallas had not played the anthem before the game, which Mavericks owner Mark Cuban confirmed to The Athletic.
Cuban released the following statement on Wednesday after the league’s announcement:
“We respect and always have respected the passion people have for the anthem and our country. But we also loudly hear the voices of those who feel that the anthem does not represent them. We feel that their voices need to be respected and heard, because they have not been. Going forward, our hope is that people will take the same passion they have for this issue and apply the same amount of energy to listen to those who feel differently from them. Only then we can move forward and have courageous conversations that move this country forward and find what unites us.”
The national anthem is usually played or sung before every game at every major sporting event in America, but Cuban is interested in having a larger discussion on the issue, which, in reality, is not a bad thing.
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