@KentuckyMBB
Kentucky vs. Florida is happening in Gainesville, and what you didn’t see on the broadcast was the entire Kentucky basketball team, including John Calipari and team, kneeling during the national anthem:
Together as one pic.twitter.com/4cWrZw8z74
– Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 9, 2021
The entire Kentucky team kneels during the hymn. #blm pic.twitter.com/VuC7yR8P28
– Chris Harry (@GatorsChris) January 9, 2021
So far, this season, the team stayed in the dressing room of Rupp during the national anthem and I don’t remember seeing photos of them kneeling in other arenas, but the moment is remarkable. After the Capitol riot, several NBA and college basketball teams knelt during the anthem this week. On Friday, assistant coach Jai Lucas was asked if Calipari told the team about the riot and said the following:
“And most importantly, the coach did a good job of just letting the guys express their feelings and how they feel and what’s going on in their heads and stuff. This is something, you know, it gives them the ability to do it. He always says it is a program that prioritizes players and he really executes it that way. He did a good job of listening to them, their concerns and their thoughts. This is the most important thing, just having these conversations open to allow them to express themselves. I think we give them a safe place to do that. ”