As the National Anthem played before the Utah Jazz faced the New Orleans Pelicans on an NBA court, some people on both teams kneeled.
Okay, a lot of people on both teams kneeled.
Okay, all the people on both teams kneeled.
As reported by The Daily Wire, in an unprecedented turn, literally all the coaches, players, and even referees at Thursday night’s game took a knee.
And on the planks in large letters: “Black Lives Matter.”
Every player, coach and ref takes a knee during the national anthem before the Pelicans-Jazz game pic.twitter.com/LZy1A6s8VM
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 30, 2020
The protest comes only one day after a report by ESPN laying out alleged child abuse at league training camps for youth in China — a story RedState’s Bonchie called “the biggest scandal in the league’s history.”
ESPN just dropped an atomic bomb on the NBA’s China relationship. Story alleges NBA turned blind eye to massive human rights abuses & league’s own camps looked like they were from Nazi Germany. NBA also told employees not to comment on China for story. https://t.co/tjOcaOtjtz
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) July 29, 2020
Could the bent knees have been for exploited children and foreign human rights abuses?
Perhaps, but the players donned Black Lives Matter warm-up shirts.
As I’ve previously observed, those three words may have wildly different meanings, depending on whether they trumpet a concept or an organization.
Black Lives Matter™ appears to have more to do with social, cultural, and political activism than a general valuing of human life.
From the group’s official website:
We make space for transgender brothers and sisters to participate and lead.
We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence.
We build a space that affirms Black women and is free from sexism, misogyny, and environments in which men are centered.
…We dismantle the patriarchal practice that requires mothers to work “double shifts” so that they can mother in private even as they participate in public justice work.
We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.
The organization’s co-founder calls herself a “trained” Marxist:
Black Lives Matter movement founder: “We are trained Marxists.”pic.twitter.com/bG7QENIM98
— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) June 22, 2020
And in Washington D.C. recently, protestors supporting BLM chanted “Israel, we know you murder children.”
Are the Jazz and the Pelicans identifying with all of the above?
The world of sports is quickly being consumed by politics. Not long ago, professional athletics was one of America’s most unifying arenas — except for people beating the crap out of each other over which team was best.
Presently, a whole new kind of ideology’s hitting the field. It’s no longer about the color of jersey, but the color of skin. And — depending upon your interpretation — sexuality, the dissolution of the family, and the political insistence of the planet’s Father of Communism.
As someone in the cheap seats, I didn’t see one that coming.
Back to the Jazz and Pelicans, both remain outdone in their statement toward “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Just two weeks ago, the female flank of the iconic league — the WNBA — saw both teams leave the court entirely as the Anthem played.
Will we ever see the purity of physical competition return?
Whether Yes or No, I think one thing’s certain: It won’t be any time this year.
-ALEX
See more pieces from me:
WATCH: 16-Year-Old Soccer Player Gets Struck by Lighting Like Something Out of ‘The Ten Commandments’
Who Needs Kneeling? Two Basketball Teams Walk Off the Court During the National Anthem
Major League Baseball Goes to Bat for Kneeling, and It Looks Like a Strike-Out
Find all my RedState work here.
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