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Gregg Popovich and Becky Hammon stood for the national anthem before the San Antonio Spurs' first game of the restart.

Popovich and Hammon both wore "Black Lives Matter" t-shirts.

“I'd prefer to keep that to myself," said Popovich, when asked what went into his decision. “Everybody has to make a personal decision. The league's been great about that; everybody has the freedom to react any way they want. For whatever reasons I have, I reacted the way I wanted to."

 

Popovich is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and also is the current coach of USA Basketball.

"With Pop and Becky standing, I have no thoughts [contrary to] belief in them that is all out of genuine, out of a positive side of their heart," DeRozan said. "Same way we kneel. Don't take away nothing from those guys.

"You know Pop speaks out. When it comes to Becky, she's been [on the] front line, fighting for equality since I've been a fan of hers playing in the WNBA. So everybody has their own right of making a statement and you can't vilify nobody for not doing what the other group is doing. I'm all for it."

Popovich has spoken out countless times against racism and the history of mistreatment of Blacks in America.

"Considering what's going on in our country with race, it's always been our national sin and it's always been something that has never been faced as well as it should have been," Popovich said on Friday afternoon prior to the game. "And with the events that we've all witnessed in this last year, it's just logical and wise to keep that momentum going ... because it is a national embarrassment. It keeps us from being the country that we should be or the country that was promised to everyone.

"And nothing could be more poignant than to have all of the teams here all committed to making statements and letting it be known that this has got to change and not just a little bit."

Popovich is the last guy anyone could call a racist. I applaud his decision to stand.

The whole purpose of standing for the national anthem for me personally has been to honor all the veterans who have both gave there life and served in protecting this country. I still feel this way.

Kneeling does not sit well with me, but I do believe that in the USA people should have the right to either stand or kneel. Its a right our Veterans have fought for, and many have died to protect.

2018C3 wrote:Popovich is the last guy anyone could call a racist. I applaud his decision to stand.

The whole purpose of standing for the national anthem for me personally has been to honor all the veterans who have both gave there life and served in protecting this country. I still feel this way.

Kneeling does not sit well with me, but I do believe that in the USA people should have the right to either stand or kneel. Its a right our Veterans have fought for, and many have died to protect.

The military does not and should not own the flag nor patriotism. The military in fact represents a lot of anti-American ideas and exhibit reprehensible morals.

Of course there are many who disagree with Pop believing that he is a victim of a left-wing propaganda effort to turn our country into a Communist country!

As he should, good on Derozan being able to think critically. If people think that to fight for justice means that you must take a stand exactly the way I do (or am told I'm supposed to), or do exactly what I do unless you are this or that label, they are setting up their society for big problems. It would be good for people to learn from the past when it comes to coercing people to just toe the line to whatever everyone else is doing without critically thinking and making decisions on your own.

Some people believe that kneeling is the way that they can take a stand or make a statement, while others might disagree and have a different disposition toward such an action and believe there are other ways. THIS IS A GOOD THING!

old knees. thats the reason

Geez, now we're in a place where people who don't kneel need to be defended? Personally, I always thought kneeling for the anthem as a form of protest was misguided. If you're fighting for equality and justice -- stand and embrace the flag, because that's what it's supposed to represent. Kneeling cedes the anthem to the regressive forces you're protesting. You should claim those patriotic symbols for your cause rather than disavow them.

Hoopstarr wrote:

2018C3 wrote:Popovich is the last guy anyone could call a racist. I applaud his decision to stand.

The whole purpose of standing for the national anthem for me personally has been to honor all the veterans who have both gave there life and served in protecting this country. I still feel this way.

Kneeling does not sit well with me, but I do believe that in the USA people should have the right to either stand or kneel. Its a right our Veterans have fought for, and many have died to protect.

The military does not and should not own the flag nor patriotism. The military in fact represents a lot of anti-American ideas and exhibit reprehensible morals.

If it weren't for all those brave men and women who went off and fought for our freedom, you'd be living in a Nazi colony right now. You'd better be thankful for the millions who died so you can be free and other races/nationalities can live free without being murdered due to their race. THOSE are the people he's talking about.

Current military, yeah maybe... but those veterans of WW2 deserve respect.

alienpick wrote:

Hoopstarr wrote:

2018C3 wrote:Popovich is the last guy anyone could call a racist. I applaud his decision to stand.

The whole purpose of standing for the national anthem for me personally has been to honor all the veterans who have both gave there life and served in protecting this country. I still feel this way.

Kneeling does not sit well with me, but I do believe that in the USA people should have the right to either stand or kneel. Its a right our Veterans have fought for, and many have died to protect.

The military does not and should not own the flag nor patriotism. The military in fact represents a lot of anti-American ideas and exhibit reprehensible morals.

If it weren't for all those brave men and women who went off and fought for our freedom, you'd be living in a Nazi colony right now. You'd better be thankful for the millions who died so you can be free and other races/nationalities can live free without being murdered due to their race. THOSE are the people he's talking about.

Current military, yeah maybe... but those veterans of WW2 deserve respect.

I want to agree with you to some extent, but the flag doesn't represent the military, it's a symbol of the whole country, and all the people in it (which yes includes soldiers).

og15 wrote:As he should, good on Derozan being able to think critically. If people think that to fight for justice means that you must take a stand exactly the way I do (or am told in supposed to), or do exactly what I do unless you are this or that label, they are setting up their society for big problems. It would be good for people to learn from the past when it comes to coercing people to just toe the line to whatever everyone else is doing without critically thinking and making decisions on your own.

Some people believe that kneeling is the way that they can take a stand or make a statement, while others might disagree and have a different disposition toward such an action and believe there are other ways. THIS IS A GOOD THING!

jstudabaka wrote:Geez, now we're in a place where people who don't kneel need to be defended? Personally, I always thought kneeling for the anthem as a form of protest was misguided. If you're fighting for equality and justice -- stand and embrace the flag, because that's what it's supposed to represent. Kneeling cedes the anthem to the regressive forces you're protesting. You should claim those patriotic symbols for your cause rather than disavow them.

dude, that wouldnt be much of an performance art would it? where is the shock value? People would actually need to come together and embrace the idea, together. Thats too much to ask for.

jstudabaka wrote:Geez, now we're in a place where people who don't kneel need to be defended? Personally, I always thought kneeling for the anthem as a form of protest was misguided. If you're fighting for equality and justice -- stand and embrace the flag, because that's what it's supposed to represent. Kneeling cedes the anthem to the regressive forces you're protesting. You should claim rhose patriotic symbols for your cause rather than disavow them.

dude, that wouldnt be much of an performance art would it? where is the shock value? People would actually need to come together and embrace the idea, together. Thats too much to ask for. Its too much work to reshape what being an american stands for, when u can just shame everyone who thinks differently into submission.

Good thing Popovich is a Trump-hating Democrat. Anybody else would be trashed. Ask Drew Brees.

esqtvd wrote:Good thing Popovich is a Trump-hating Democrat. Anybody else would be trashed. Ask Drew Brees.

You might want to hit your head again sir

jstudabaka wrote:Geez, now we're in a place where people who don't kneel need to be defended? Personally, I always thought kneeling for the anthem as a form of protest was misguided. If you're fighting for equality and justice -- stand and embrace the flag, because that's what it's supposed to represent. Kneeling cedes the anthem to the regressive forces you're protesting. You should claim those patriotic symbols for your cause rather than disavow them.

He used to sit during the anthem, then he spoke to veterans, and particularly a guy named Nate Boyer (former Marine) said that sitting was more offensive than kneeling, so Kapaernick took his advice. The point of kneeling is that people have fought and died defending the constitution, specifically ' (all) created equal, under god'.
Unfortunately, that part of the constitution STILL isn't being honoured in 2020. When this whole kneeling thing started, Colin Kapaernick specifically said that it wasn't about disrespecting the military or the flag- it was about racial injustice. You can watch a short interview with the guy that asked him to kneel instead of sit here, it's a good watch:

23artest23 wrote:

esqtvd wrote:Good thing Popovich is a Trump-hating Democrat. Anybody else would be trashed. Ask Drew Brees.

You might want to hit your head again sir

nice snark but you know its true jack

robbie84 wrote:

jstudabaka wrote:Geez, now we're in a place where people who don't kneel need to be defended? Personally, I always thought kneeling for the anthem as a form of protest was misguided. If you're fighting for equality and justice -- stand and embrace the flag, because that's what it's supposed to represent. Kneeling cedes the anthem to the regressive forces you're protesting. You should claim those patriotic symbols for your cause rather than disavow them.

He used to sit during the anthem, then he spoke to veterans, and particularly a guy named Nate Boyer (former Marine) said that sitting was more offensive than kneeling, so Kapaernick took his advice. The point of kneeling is that people have fought and died defending the constitution, specifically ' (all) created equal, under god'.
Unfortunately, that part of the constitution STILL isn't being honoured in 2020. When this whole kneeling thing started, Colin Kapaernick specifically said that it wasn't about disrespecting the military or the flag- it was about racial injustice. You can watch a short interview with the guy that asked him to kneel instead of sit here, it's a good watch:

Watch on YouTube

of course it's about disrespecting the flag


"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game.

https://www.nfl.com/news/colin-kaepernick-explains-why-he-sat-during-national-anthem-0ap3000000691077

alienpick wrote:

Hoopstarr wrote:

2018C3 wrote:Popovich is the last guy anyone could call a racist. I applaud his decision to stand.

The whole purpose of standing for the national anthem for me personally has been to honor all the veterans who have both gave there life and served in protecting this country. I still feel this way.

Kneeling does not sit well with me, but I do believe that in the USA people should have the right to either stand or kneel. Its a right our Veterans have fought for, and many have died to protect.

The military does not and should not own the flag nor patriotism. The military in fact represents a lot of anti-American ideas and exhibit reprehensible morals.

If it weren't for all those brave men and women who went off and fought for our freedom, you'd be living in a Nazi colony right now. You'd better be thankful for the millions who died so you can be free and other races/nationalities can live free without being murdered due to their race. THOSE are the people he's talking about.

Current military, yeah maybe... but those veterans of WW2 deserve respect.

Picking and choosing which soldiers count proves my point. The flag represents the whole country.

coolbyme wrote:

alienpick wrote:

Hoopstarr wrote:
The military does not and should not own the flag nor patriotism. The military in fact represents a lot of anti-American ideas and exhibit reprehensible morals.

If it weren't for all those brave men and women who went off and fought for our freedom, you'd be living in a Nazi colony right now. You'd better be thankful for the millions who died so you can be free and other races/nationalities can live free without being murdered due to their race. THOSE are the people he's talking about.

Current military, yeah maybe... but those veterans of WW2 deserve respect.

I want to agree with you to some extent, but the flag doesn't represent the military, it's a symbol of the whole country, and all the people in it (which yes includes soldiers).

You and the OP are correct. It represents the entire country, it’s people and the values they share. That’s why those brave men and women went into battle wearing the flag, because of who and what it stood for. Hundreds of thousands have taken action and made the ultimate sacrifice defending those values which the flag, the country, and its people stand for. In that way, they are forever linked.

esqtvd wrote:of course it's about disrespecting the flag

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game.

You appeared to miss the words that actually mattered in this sentence.