WNBA, NY Liberty players leave court during national anthem

[riversedge]

Source: nypost






July 25, 2020 | 12:52pm | Updated

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Both teams left the court during the national anthem as a sign of peaceful protest and held a 26-second moment of silence for Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old black woman who was killed at her home by Louisville police. Each player also had Taylor’s name on the back of their jerseys.

“We are dedicating this season to Breonna Taylor, an outstanding EMT who was murdered over 130 days ago in her home,” Liberty player Layshia Clarendon announced at mid-court, alongside Storm star Breanna Stewart, before the opening tip-off at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. “Breonna Taylor was dedicated and committed to uplifting everyone around here. We are also dedicating this season to ‘Say Her Name” campaign, a campaign committed to saying the names and fighting for justice of black women – black women are so often forgotten in this fight for justice, who don’t have people marching in the streets for them. We will say her name. Sandra Bland. Atatiana Jefferson. Dominique Remy Fells. Breonna Taylor. We will be a voice for the voiceless.”

The Liberty donated $25,000 to the African American Policy Forum and the #SayHerName campaign.
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Read more: https://nypost.com/2020/07/25/video-wnbas-liberty-storm-leave-court-during-national-anthem/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPTwitter

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Link to tweet

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Link to tweet

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[Ferrets are Cool]

1. IMO, the thing shouldn't be played before sports games anyway.

Sheesh, this country is so fucking insecure in it's own sovereignty.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Agreed. When did this silliness start?

[oldsoftie]

5. Actually not that long ago. I think it was sometime after 9/11

And it just continued.

[sarisataka]

6. Some research using Google indicates

Last edited Sat Jul 25, 2020, 02:42 PM - Edit history (1)

the connection between sports and the National Anthem began in 1862.

Edit> more accurately it is the connection between sports and the Star Spangled Banner. The song did not become the National Anthem until 1931. It was apparently played fairly regularly , though not necessarily every game, by that time.

[ProfessorGAC]

23. Baseball Adopted It...

...in 1917 as a way to stir up patriotic fever as the US entered WW1. The had Liberty Bond booths at every game, and they thought the anthem would juice people into ponying up.
It was then they played it at every game, both leagues.
It was, in fact, not even played at the world series until then, despite the red, white, & blue bunting used then.
The NFL didn't do it in its earliest days, but adopted it in the 1930s, because college football made it an expectation.
The NBA started its life with it. They started the league just 9 months after the end of WW2.
The Olympics started doing it for medal ceremonies from the beginning of the modern games.
Yeas, it's been around for a while.
It's still silly.

[George II]

8. The national anthem has been played before sporting events for more than a century. They do it...

....in just about every country, too.

In the NHL, if a Canadian team is playing a US team (in either Canada or the US) they play both.

I don't understand the significance myself, but it's nothing new.

[NurseJackie]

10. In some countries, the national anthem is played in movie theaters before the feature presentation.

[sarisataka]

12. Same on Marine Corps bases

in the newsreel era it was common in every theater

[NurseJackie]

13. And, I cannot recall the last time I saw: ... "this concludes our broadcast day."

[melm00se]

15. We used to play that

when we shutdown on the overnight but once we went to 24 hour broadcasting we never concluded our broadcast day.

[iluvtennis]

19. Agree. Not appropriate for sporting event unless it's something at national level like

the Olympics.

[Ferrets are Cool]

20. +1

[Thomas Hurt]

2. The Pig set the stage for this by attacking Kaepernick.

George Floyd's murder triggered this round of protests, but the Pig has been escalating and pushing since he got in office.

His fascist agenda, his bungling CV, the threat to the economy, all of it have brought this to head. The Pig only has himself to blame.

People were just not going to take his bee ess from the MAGAts.

[PatSeg]

3. I usually try not to read the comments

but I made the mistake of reading some on this Tweet. Really pretty nasty stuff.

[justgamma]

7. I didn't know "Say Her Name" was a thing.

I was watching old videos of my DIL who we lost last year to a brain aneurysm. Her cousin started the Detroit Women's Choir and she was a founding member. In one video they were singing "Say Her Name" about Sandra Bland and others.

They also sing a song called "We Call BS"!

[Traildogbob]

9. As a veteran

I will no longer stand, salute, remove my hat and mouth the (under this regime) meaningless lyrics. I fully support these athletes and it is damn Way past time. I have zero respect or loyalty to the criminal regime. And it is not just trump, it is GOP as a whole and his brainless cult of Ken’s and Karen’s. Trump et al ripped open the wound and the Magat’s have rushed to the surface, willing to consume everything in their way. People with a soul should gag at the sight as they would opening a forgotten tupper ware container from a long ago picnic and find maggots by the thousands, squirming in unison.

[jaxexpat]

14. That's pretty visceral Traildogbob. And I totally get it.

This all recollects, for me, the Viet Nam body count outrage. Every thinking citizen had to know that the US military and the government it projected was lying about their murder of millions of innocents. Drafting it's children to perform the dirty deeds. Many were heartsick to death that their country could do such atrocity.

The question then (and now too, really) is, do you seek the vision our founders proposed or deny it's very existence, consumed by hate of the fraud of it before your very eyes?
The vision they had was not of a complete and perfect creation. They understood it was never to be worshipped but it was also clear to them how it was special and precious. It is that this country can repair itself after any and every misstep no matter how horrible or damning the scheme it's citizens foment. It does so by the VOTE. The country can right itself in a moment to the will of the people by the VOTE. All the awful can be pushed aside by the immutable power of the VOTE.

So, if we despair and need to act out our desperation, we should be willing to sacrifice everything for the preservation of that vision. There is no other choice.

[erronis]

16. Well said. We should be willing to sacrifice for that vision.

Given that the governments and the autocrats treat 99.9% of us as expendables, why not use what's left of our lives in honor.

[jaxexpat]

17. it all gets so esoteric when it's important

Thanks

[Traildogbob]

18. Well said

As long as we have the vote. My generation and I had no right to a vote, but to go die for them, perfectly acceptable. Until we said no damn more. My draft number, 324. I joined, can’t say I would join now to risk my life for that 37 percent of idiots that are ok with fascism and Putin control. Most of them never sacrifice a damn thing, except now, having to sacrifice their confederate flag, inside nascar tracks.
Thanks for you very important response, but that vote, again, is about to be trashed, if we let them. I am so proud of these fearless protesters, all ages, all races, Moms and Vets. Representing the United of the USA.

[Ferrets are Cool]

21. Well stated

[KG]

22. actual heroes

[MichMan]

24. When is the NBA going to pay the WNBA players anywhere what they pay the men?

WNBA - Minimum salary for 1 yr experience = $57,000

NBA - Minimum salary for 1 yr experience = $1.5 million

[Steelrolled]

25. My guess is never.

They would just shutdown the WNBA first.

[RhodeIslandOne]

26. The NBA keeps them afloat.

[MichMan]

27. and owns the WNBA..