MIAMI (AP) – With words and actions, several NBA teams showed dismay on Wednesday, hours after a violent crowd loyal to President Donald Trump managed to invade the United States Capitol and in response to a Wisconsin prosecutor’s decision not to prosecute a police officer who shot a black man last year.
In Miami, the Heat and the Boston Celtics issued a joint statement saying they were playing “with a heavy heart” in a game in which most players and coaches knelt for the national anthem. In Milwaukee, the Bucks and the Detroit Pistons exchanged their first possessions – intentionally, with all 10 players on the court kneeling. In Phoenix, the Suns and Toronto Raptors formed a circle and gave their arms to American and Canadian anthems. Many other tributes have taken place around the NBA.
Earlier in the day, on Capitol Hill, a crowd delayed Congress to certify the results of the November election and paved the way for President-elect Joe Biden to be sworn in later this month.
“It is an embarrassing and shameful day in our country,” said New Orleans coach Stan Van Gundy.
Wednesday’s events came a day after the decision not to press charges against the officer who shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year was announced. Blake’s shot was one of many problems that players focused on last season in the NBA’s re-bubble, where issues of racial injustice and police brutality were a constant focus.
The joint Heat-Celtics statement said, in part: “2021 is a new year, but some things have not changed. We played tonight’s game with a heavy heart after yesterday’s decision in Kenosha, and knowing that protesters in our country’s capital are treated differently by political leaders, depending on which side of certain issues they are on. ”
The Celtics discussed Blake’s decision earlier in the day, before Capitol events unfolded. The Celtics then met again as a team after arriving at the arena in Miami, discussed options, and coach Brad Stevens even called his wife to say that he did not think his team would take the field.
Boston ended up choosing to play, beating Miami 107-105.
“They operated in an attitude of winning at all costs,” said Stevens of the Trump administration. “I don’t know, our sporting world is much less important, obviously. But I always thought that if you operated with an attitude of winning at all costs, it would be a very unsatisfactory ending. And in this situation, a shameful ending. So I’m looking forward to two weeks from now, as I know a lot of other people are too. “
Biden will open two weeks from Wednesday, January 20th.
It was not clear whether any of the teams that knelt would be subject to penalties. The NBA has had a rule for decades that players and coaches must represent the national anthem. That rule was relaxed last year, when the season was restarted with the bubble inside Walt Disney World.
The Bucks won the first stroke of their game and, instead of playing twice, NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo simply held the ball while all the players knelt. This resulted in a turnaround, as well as possession in Detroit, when Blake Griffin held the ball and the players knelt again. The Bucks said that after the game they held the ball for 7 seconds to reflect the seven times that Blake was shot.
“We want to do things to help change, be on the right side of the fight, continue to fight, not be in any way, shape or form distracted or slowed or moved in the wrong direction,” said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. “We need to move forward in all ways, shapes and formats.”
Meanwhile, a men’s college basketball game scheduled to be played in Washington on Wednesday night was postponed after a city curfew was imposed in response to the crowd’s actions on the Capitol. The Atlantic 10 Conference game between George Washington and UMass will be rescheduled by the league.
Another Washington team, Georgetown, knelt to hear the anthem before facing Butler in Indianapolis. “I’m sad,” said Hoyas coach Patrick Ewing in response to the day’s events.
There were 11 games on Wednesday’s NBA schedule. Everyone was touched.
“It’s a little strange to be playing a game tonight, to be honest,” Charlotte coach James Borrego said before his club played in Atlanta.
Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers, who is black, spoke about the big difference between rallies across America last summer, which often included violent skirmishes between protesters and the police and what he watched on Capitol Hill on Wednesday .
“The symbolism of invading the Capitol without force on them, if you’re a black American, definitely touches you in a different way,” said Rivers. “This is not a black thing. This is an American thing. “
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AP Sports writers Steve Megargee in Milwaukee, Brett Martel in New Orleans, Howard Fendrich in Washington, Dan Gelston in Philadelphia and Charles Odum in Atlanta and freelance AP John Denton in Orlando, Florida, contributed to this report.
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