What NBA players and coaches are saying about national anthem protests
As NBA teams hold their annual media days before training camps tip off, players and coaches across the league are speaking out in the wake of the national anthem protests that have swept the sports world in recent weeks. Continue to follow throughout the day for updates.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James:
New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony:
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry:
"I respect everybody’s voice, everybody’s platform, and their opportunity and right to protest what they feel in their heart is something they want changed. I’ve said that plenty of times about Colin (Kaepernick). I respect what he’s doing. I respect the message that he’s fighting for, and I hope all the spotlight is on that particular message and the things we can do to make changes that are blatantly obvious we need change, so I hope going forward it’s not about who’s raising their fist, who’s kneeling, who’s standing, who’s doing this or that. It’s about what Colin and other guys – what the message is, and what we don’t want to stand for any more."
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich:
“I absolutely understand why they’re doing what they’re doing, and I respect their courage for what they’ve done. The question is whether it’ll do any good or not, because change really seems to happen through political pressure. No matter how you look at it, whether it’s Dr. (Martin Luther) King getting large groups of people together and boycotting buses, or what’s happened in Carolina with the NBA and other organizations pulling events to make it known what’s going on. I think the important thing (Colin) Kaepernick and others have done is to keep it in the conversation.“
Warriors forward Draymond Green: "I don’t need to take a knee to say it. I’ll just say it: it’s messed up, and there needs to be some changes made. Until then, we’ll keep battling, keep wondering ‘Why did this guy get killed? Why did that guy get killed?’ There’s people’s lives out here being taken, and somebody wants to criticize what Colin’s doing?... I think it’s pretty ridiculous that someone can’t come up with a solution, or (that) people can’t be criticized for their actions. I’ve been penalized for my actions, and I’m ok with that. Other people not being penalized for their actions is pretty ridiculous to me."
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal: “Individually, I haven’t really thought about doing anything or what I would do in that situation. But if we do, I think it will be as a team. We’ll talk to Coach Brooks and as a team on what we feel is right and what we feel we should do if we’re going to do anything. It’s a tough subject given how you view it because it is bringing awareness to something, but it can be a distraction, too. At the end of the day, you have to stand firm on what you believe in, and you can’t straddle the fence one way or the other. It’s either you’re all in or you’re all out. As a team, we’re going to figure out what it is we want to do, and we’re going to stand with it.”
Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford:
Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin:
Wizards coach Scott Brooks: “I’ve had some good dialogue with all of our guys and will continue to have dialogue. With that, I believe in peaceful protests. But I also believe if you’re going to peacefully protest, you have to have some action behind it. Our guys have an incredible impact. I’ve been around this great game of basketball for close to 30 years in this league. It’s a privilege and it’s an honor to be in the position NBA players are in, and they have the ability to inspire. They have an impact. But it’s also important that when you have that platform don’t just talk about it, put some action in place.”
Philadelphia 76ers GM Bryan Colangelo:
Phoenix Suns forward Jared Dudley: