Jonathan Isaac Becomes First NBA Player To Stand For Anthem Since Restart

[Elnegron]

The dude has every right to do whatever he wants, and if he thinks kneeling isn’t the right thing for him, more power to him.

But I gotta say, he doesn’t come off as particularly bright here. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sound from his quotes like his stance is “well, we’re ALL sinners, so none of this matters until we humble ourselves before god and accept Jesus into our hearts.” Awesome, thanks bro. So helpful.

You said he can have his own opinion then criticize him after wtf

[boston_fan_ct]

so now we bash his religion? people will never learn. isn't the whole point of BLM is that we need treat each other with respect as human beings? he states his opinion other than what we want and you do just the same thing that the movement is crying out over and attack him. hypocritical if you ask me.

[Revived]

I don't like this. Player shouldn't put through interrogation and singled out just because he chooses not to do these things. Think if this player was other color, people would be quick to paint him as a racist and teammates turn on him. I feel this is exactly what white players in the bubble fear just now. Mob mentality deciding what they are as a person if they don't dance following their pipes.

I agree, if this was a white player, it would have likely been pretty ugly, but for better or worse, lots of things are like that in life. You'd probably be right to question the motives of a white player doing the same thing.

Why question the motives lol. What if a white player had the exact same reasoning as Issac?

I wonder if people realize that it’s possible to not be racist and still not support the BLM organization. It doesn’t go hand in hand.

[Bottomsouth]

Good for him. He shouldn’t really need to explain.

[dougthonus]

Why question the motives lol. What if a white player had the exact same reasoning as Issac?

I wonder if people realize that it’s possible to not be racist and still not support the BLM organization. It doesn’t go hand in hand.

Just as a clarification, I don't think kneeling during the anthem is supporting the BLM organization. It's supporting the current movement which are not one in the same. I wish the NBA supported this movement without supporting this organization personally, because I find them to be a divisionary organization rather than a uniting organization based on the material of theirs that I've read.

That out of the way, to this specific question, there is a time/place/context to people's actions. It doesn't take a whole lot of self-awareness to know that if you took this action you would stand out. Isaac know this, and discussed with his teammates before hand. You absolutely know a lot of scrutiny over not joining in would come.

Given the context of the situation, a white player doing the same thing and looking to generate that scrutiny, which would obviously be much higher, assumptions would be made, and someone whom is inviting such scrutiny probably should be legitimately questioned as to why they're inviting such scrutiny rather than supporting their teammates around something they care deeply about.

Because Isaac is black, there isn't really much question about whether he really supports increasing African American equity and whether his motives are sincere or not. For a white player, this is pretty different. It's fairly binary, you are either showing support for those around you or you aren't. If you aren't, then it absolutely invites question as to why you aren't. I'm not saying there aren't reasonable answers to those questions, but it would be pretty curious as to why you would value something else over supporting your peers in something that is obviously deeply personal to them.

[Wo1verine]

These 'woke' people many of them on social media ( mainly white liberals) questioning a good man in Isaac are relentless to the max with the virtue signalling ..

Mind your business straight up - no explanation needed nor warranted.

[B00Yah]

so now we bash his religion? people will never learn. isn't the whole point of BLM is that we need treat each other with respect as human beings? he states his opinion other than what we want and you do just the same thing that the movement is crying out over and attack him. hypocritical if you ask me.

Many people believe BLM is about treating others with respect, but it's not. It's a Marxist organization with a different agenda. BLM is a brand.

Think I'm making this up?

Watch on YouTube

[birdlives_ma]

so now we bash his religion? people will never learn. isn't the whole point of BLM is that we need treat each other with respect as human beings? he states his opinion other than what we want and you do just the same thing that the movement is crying out over and attack him. hypocritical if you ask me.

Many people believe BLM is about treating others with respect, but it's not. It's a Marxist organization with a different agenda. BLM is a brand.

Think I'm making this up?

Watch on YouTube

No one thinks you made it up... we know you watch Tucker

[TMU]

Nothing wrong with kneeling. Nothing wrong with standing. Let's keep it simple.

[Brofessor24]

Here's my take on this:

I personally have zero problem with what Isaac did. However I disagree with the following statement that he said, "kneeling while wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt don't go hand in hand with supporting Black lives." There is no harm in kneeling peacefully and wearing a T-shirt in order to spread a message. If you want to get more involved (via donating money to organizations) that is even better, but obviously not a requirement.

It's cool that he is religious, however in order for real/lasting change to occur, there has to be action. Just praying isn't enough.

I personally do not agree with everything that BLM (the organization) stands for. I love the statement though. It is possible to support the statement itself, but not necessarily the organization. Do not get it twisted.

I personally do not believe that Marxism is a serious problem in the USA. The Marxism fear mongering baffles me.

Also, just because someone is kneeling during the anthem and wearing a BLM shirt doesn't necessarily mean that they are "brainwashed" or that they "lack the courage to think for themselves." It's important to keep that in mind.

[israelfirst]

good for him.

[clyde21]

Isaac was asked if he believed that Black lives matter.

wait, what? they seriously asked a black man if he believes black lives matter?

how is this even allowed?

[Revived]

Why question the motives lol. What if a white player had the exact same reasoning as Issac?

I wonder if people realize that it’s possible to not be racist and still not support the BLM organization. It doesn’t go hand in hand.

Just as a clarification, I don't think kneeling during the anthem is supporting the BLM organization. It's supporting the current movement which are not one in the same. I wish the NBA supported this movement without supporting this organization personally, because I find them to be a divisionary organization rather than a uniting organization based on the material of theirs that I've read.

That out of the way, to this specific question, there is a time/place/context to people's actions. It doesn't take a whole lot of self-awareness to know that if you took this action you would stand out. Isaac know this, and discussed with his teammates before hand. You absolutely know a lot of scrutiny over not joining in would come.

Given the context of the situation, a white player doing the same thing and looking to generate that scrutiny, which would obviously be much higher, assumptions would be made, and someone whom is inviting such scrutiny probably should be legitimately questioned as to why they're inviting such scrutiny rather than supporting their teammates around something they care deeply about.

Because Isaac is black, there isn't really much question about whether he really supports increasing African American equity and whether his motives are sincere or not. For a white player, this is pretty different. It's fairly binary, you are either showing support for those around you or you aren't. If you aren't, then it absolutely invites question as to why you aren't. I'm not saying there aren't reasonable answers to those questions, but it would be pretty curious as to why you would value something else over supporting your peers in something that is obviously deeply personal to them.

I agree 100% with your first paragraph. I feel the same way. I agree with the Black Lives Matter message and movement which is about eliminating black deaths at the hands of police brutality. But I also don’t support the BLM organization for the exact same reason you mentioned.

Second part, yes a white player would draw more scrutiny but he also has the right to stand up on what he believes in. Maybe he finds not standing for the flag the equivalent of spitting at the flag or the country or something. *not saying I believe this btw I think people should stand or kneel or sleep or whatever as they choose to do since it’s not harming anyone else*.

If a white player felt strongly enough about standing, I would hope that his black teammates would understand and respect the decision just the same way the white player understands and respects the decision of the black players to kneel.

We can’t let the mob mentality win otherwise the country is headed to shambles for all races. We can focus on fixing the issue (BLM movement) without doing that. If someone doesn’t want to support the BLM organization or kneel for the flag, they shouldn’t be shamed for doing it. Imagine if the average 9-5 worker loses his job because he believes in standing for the flag but the mob mentality is against it. That’s when we lose our rights and everything we have if we can’t choose to do what we can without harming others.

[Revived]

Isaac was asked if he believed that Black lives matter.

wait, what? they seriously asked a black man if he believes black lives matter?

how is this even allowed?

Lol you should see the interview video, it was every bit as cringey as you would think it is. The reporter should’ve got more backlash than Isaac did in my opinion.

[dougthonus]

I agree 100% with your first paragraph. I feel the same way. I agree with the Black Lives Matter message and movement which is about eliminating black deaths at the hands of police brutality. But I also don’t support the BLM organization for the exact same reason you mentioned.

Second part, yes a white player would draw more scrutiny but he also has the right to stand up on what he believes in. Maybe he finds not standing for the flag the equivalent of spitting at the flag or the country or something. *not saying I believe this btw I think people should stand or kneel or sleep or whatever as they choose to do since it’s not harming anyone else*.

If a white player felt strongly enough about standing, I would hope that his black teammates would understand and respect the decision just the same way the white player understands and respects the decision of the black players to kneel.

We can’t let the mob mentality win otherwise the country is headed to shambles for all races. We can focus on fixing the issue (BLM movement) without doing that. If someone doesn’t want to support the BLM organization or kneel for the flag, they shouldn’t be shamed for doing it. Imagine if the average 9-5 worker loses his job because he believes in standing for the flag but the mob mentality is against it. That’s when we lose our rights and everything we have if we can’t choose to do what we can without harming others.

I generally agree what you're saying, and I don't think it contradicts what I said either.

Decisions have consequences. If virtually everyone is uniting behind something and you don't, then that will invite scrutiny and questions may be asked. As I noted, those questions may have valid answers, but they will be asked.

I also agree with your point on mob mentality, but that equivalent of mob mentality has been working against African Americans for the past 200+ years and for most of that time, our country as a whole hasn't adequately cared for nor protected their rights. I don't think standing for the national anthem = racism or anything like that, nor do I think those people who would choose to stand should be shamed.

In the context of virtually everyone doing something, it isn't surprising that someone who chooses not to is questioned though.

[Revived]

I agree 100% with your first paragraph. I feel the same way. I agree with the Black Lives Matter message and movement which is about eliminating black deaths at the hands of police brutality. But I also don’t support the BLM organization for the exact same reason you mentioned.

Second part, yes a white player would draw more scrutiny but he also has the right to stand up on what he believes in. Maybe he finds not standing for the flag the equivalent of spitting at the flag or the country or something. *not saying I believe this btw I think people should stand or kneel or sleep or whatever as they choose to do since it’s not harming anyone else*.

If a white player felt strongly enough about standing, I would hope that his black teammates would understand and respect the decision just the same way the white player understands and respects the decision of the black players to kneel.

We can’t let the mob mentality win otherwise the country is headed to shambles for all races. We can focus on fixing the issue (BLM movement) without doing that. If someone doesn’t want to support the BLM organization or kneel for the flag, they shouldn’t be shamed for doing it. Imagine if the average 9-5 worker loses his job because he believes in standing for the flag but the mob mentality is against it. That’s when we lose our rights and everything we have if we can’t choose to do what we can without harming others.

I generally agree what you're saying, and I don't think it contradicts what I said either.

Decisions have consequences. If virtually everyone is uniting behind something and you don't, then that will invite scrutiny and questions may be asked. As I noted, those questions may have valid answers, but they will be asked.

I also agree with your point on mob mentality, but that equivalent of mob mentality has been working against African Americans for the past 200+ years and for most of that time, our country as a whole hasn't not adequately cared for nor protected their rights. I don't think standing for the national anthem = racism or anything like that, nor do I think those people who would choose to stand should be shamed.

In the context of virtually everyone doing something, it isn't surprising that someone who chooses not to is questioned though.

Yeah I’m sure he expected to be asked about it too in some sort of way. I do think Isaac is a good kid who probably is supporting the movement in some other way that we don’t know about which doesn’t include kneeling or the wearing the BLM tshirt during pregame warmups.

[dc]

https://apnews.com/6baae751e749d24cdf4fb5a35edb07d9

BTW, this reminds me a little bit of what happened with the San Francisco Giants back in 1996. AIDS was a much bigger deal than it is today (it was a death sentence back then, it's a manageable/survivable disease today.....so long as you can afford the drugs).

The SF Giants hosted (and still host to this day) an "Until there's a cure day" for one home game a year to raise money and awareness for AIDS treatment and awareness. All the players would wear red ribbons to commemorate the occasion and I believe there was some on the field ceremonial stuff going on right before the game. Everyone was pretty touched by the ceremony, as even the visiting Atlanta Braves decided to go out onto the field.

Anyways, the Giants had a journeyman level relief pitcher named Mark Dewey who was HEAVILY religious. Like Jonathan Isaac level religious. He chose NOT to participate in any of the festivities, and he chose to wear his ribbon sideways so that it would look like one of those fish symbols for Christianity. Dewey said that he didn't want to participate because, well you know why....

There are certain people involved who believe that homosexual behavior is not a sin. Sin is sin. And some people don’t believe that homosexuality is a sin. The idea to me of a `Safe Sex’ kind of campaign, again, flies directly in the face of Scripture. Things like that.″

Dewey got a lot of grief for this, especially with it being San Francisco. Giants basically made no comment about it. Dewey actually retired at the end of the year at 31. Said he wanted to spend more time with his family and church. Anyways, there are some similarities here, with the common element being religion, at least according to what Isaac was saying.

Not ragging on either guy for their religious beliefs, but it is what it is. Stuff like that is always going to stir up some drama.

[Shem]

Good for him. A real man stands up for what he believes is right, even if it’s not popular. A real man doesn’t let others dictate his choices or behaviour. Respect.

That's why I love Colin Kaepernick. He kneeled and it wasn't popular in 2016 and got a lot of hate for it.

Got a pile of money for it too.

But did he get that money when he was getting hated on? Did Kap know he was going to get a big pay day later on in advance?

[Shem]

so now we bash his religion? people will never learn. isn't the whole point of BLM is that we need treat each other with respect as human beings? he states his opinion other than what we want and you do just the same thing that the movement is crying out over and attack him. hypocritical if you ask me.

Many people believe BLM is about treating others with respect, but it's not. It's a Marxist organization with a different agenda. BLM is a brand.

Think I'm making this up?

Watch on YouTube

And the Civil Rights movement lead by Martin Luther King was accused of being a communist movement.

[dc]

And the Civil Rights movement lead by Martin Luther King was accused of being a communist movement.

People in this country have a habit of labeling anything they don't like as "communism".

I have parents who grew up in China during the cultural revolution (and I was fortunate enough to be born AFTER that debacle). They can tell you what living under REAL communism/Marxism looks like, and that no political or social movement in this country has ever come close to that.