'An embarrassing and shameful day': NBA reacts to Capitol protests, Blake decision
Raptors, Suns link arms in show of solidarity; Celtics, Heat release joint statement
With words and actions, several NBA teams showed dismay Wednesday, hours after a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump was able to storm the U.S. Capitol — and in response to a decision by a Wisconsin prosecutor not to charge a police officer who shot a Black man last year.
In Miami, the Heat and Boston Celtics released a joint statement saying they were playing "with a heavy heart" in a game where most players and coaches knelt for the national anthem. In Milwaukee, the Bucks and Detroit Pistons both took turnovers on their first possessions — intentionally, with all 10 players on the court kneeling.
Earlier in the day at the Capitol, a mob delayed Congress from certifying the results of November's election and paving the way for president-elect Joe Biden to be sworn in later this month.
The Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns linked arms in a centre-court circle for the national anthems ahead of Wednesday night's game.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse called the events of the past two days: "Disturbing, disgusting, incredulous, sad.
"This just seems to be not-stop, and it seems to not improve."
Nurse said veteran guard Kyle Lowry met with Suns guard Chris Paul before tip-off to discuss possible actions. He said his team would take the floor with conflicted feelings.
"I'm personally conflicted, and then I always really try to feel where I should fit in, in this picture of things," the coach said. "Certainly, I talked to the leaders of our team. Always want to give them a platform and open line of communication and then try to evaluate from there what is going on. I support them either way, and if they decide they're gonna play, then I gotta decide I'm gonna coach 'em to the best of my ability."
WATCH | Raptors, Suns join in display of NBA-wide solidarity:
"It's an embarrassing and shameful day in our country," said New Orleans coach Stan Van Gundy.
In San Francisco, the Golden State Warriors donned "Black Lives Matter" shirts and knelt for the anthem, as did their opponents, the Los Angeles Clippers.
Wednesday's events came one day after the decision was announced to not to bring charges against the officer who shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., last year. Blake's shooting was one of the many issues players focused on last season in the NBA restart bubble, where the 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 play tonight's game with a heavy heart after yesterday's decision in Kenosha, and knowing that protesters in our nation's capital are treated differently by political leaders depending on what side of certain issues they are on."
The Celtics discussed the Blake decision earlier in the day, before the events from the Capitol unfolded. The Celtics then met again as a team after arriving at the arena in Miami, where many televisions in the locker room areas — normally on sports channels — were on the news.
<a href="https://t.co/MzCAxG0FLE">pic.twitter.com/MzCAxG0FLE</a>
—@celtics"They've operated in a win-at-all-costs attitude," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of Trump's administration. "I don't know, our sports world is a lot less important, obviously. But I've always thought if you operated with a win-at-all-costs attitude, it's going to be a pretty unfulfilling ending. And in this situation, a disgraceful ending. So, I'm looking forward to two weeks from now, as I know a lot of other people are, too."
Biden will be inaugurated two weeks from Wednesday, on Jan. 20.
The NBA had a rule for decades that players and coaches must stand for the national anthem. That rule was relaxed last year when the season resumed at the bubble inside Walt Disney World.
The Bucks won the opening tip of their game, and instead of running a play two-time reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo simply held the ball as all players knelt. That resulted in a turnover, as did the ensuing Detroit possession when Blake Griffin held the ball and players took a knee again. The Bucks said after the game they held the ball for 7 seconds to reflect the seven times Blake was shot.
The Bucks and Pistons took a knee following tonight's tip-off<br><br>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBATV</a>)<a href="https://t.co/De99gWvaKA">pic.twitter.com/De99gWvaKA</a>
—@SInow"We want to do things to help make 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," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "We need to keep moving forward in all ways, shapes and forms."
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 mob's actions at the Capitol. The Atlantic 10 Conference game between George Washington and UMass will be rescheduled by the league.
Another Washington-based team, Georgetown, took a knee for the anthem before facing Butler in Indianapolis. "I'm saddened," Hoyas coach Patrick Ewing said in response to the day's events.
WATCH | Bring It In: Breaking down sports fallout from Capitol siege:
There were 11 games on Wednesday's NBA schedule.
"It feels a little odd to play 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 of the stark difference between rallies across the U.S. last summer that often included violent skirmishes between protesters and police and what he watched at the Capitol on Wednesday.
"The symbolism of storming the Capitol without force done to them, if you're a Black American, it definitely touches you in a different way," Rivers said. "This is not a Black thing. This is an American thing."
