Entire OKC Thunder team kneels during National Anthem before their first NBA restart game
ORLANDO, Fla. (KFOR) – The entire Oklahoma City Thunder team knelt together during the National Anthem on Saturday, before the start of their first official game since the NBA restarted.
The Thunder are playing in Orlando, Fla., against the Utah Jazz.
The 2019-20 NBA season officially restarted on Thursday, July 30, after being interrupted in March by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The season came to an abrupt halt on the night of March 11, right before the start of the Thunder’s game against the Jazz. Shortly prior to tip-off, Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVDI-19. The game was cancelled, and later that same night, the season was suspended.
NBA teams have been kneeling during the National Anthem since the season restarted.
Players are kneeling in protest against frequent instances of police brutality committed against black people.
While the NBA was on hiatus, the nation was shook by the death of George Floyd.
Floyd, a black man, died on May 25 beneath the knee of white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
Chauvin and three other officers attempted to arrest Floyd and took him down to the ground.
Chauvin put his knee down on the back of Floyd’s neck. Floyd pleaded for his life, saying he could not breathe and calling out to his dead mother. Chauvin kept his knee pressed down against the back of Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
Floyd’s death ignited massive protests across the nation, as well as in major cities across the globe.
Oklahoma State Rep. Sean Roberts (R-Hominy), on Friday, issued a statement warning Oklahoma City Thunder players against kneeling during the National Anthem, and threatening to reexamine the Thunder’s tax benefits if they knelt.
“If the Oklahoma City Thunder leadership and players follow the current trend of the NBA by kneeling during the national anthem prior to Saturday’s game, perhaps we need to reexamine the significant tax benefits the State of Oklahoma granted the Oklahoma City Thunder organization when they came to Oklahoma. Through the Quality Jobs Act, the Thunder is still under contract to receive these tax breaks from our state until 2024,” Roberts said in the statement.
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt expressed his support on Twitter, Saturday, for the Thunder and their fight against racial inequality.
KFOR reached out to Thunder personnel for a statement in response to Roberts’ warning and threat, but have not yet received a response.