NBA team media days are usually light hearted and fun, but the Toronto Raptors center Jared Sullinger had a more serious issue on his mind as he spoke to reporters.
“I do believe there will be some NBA players that will take a knee. We have a rule in our code of conduct that anything against the flag will be a fine, so we're interested to see what will happen.”
The NBA has an official rule that fines players who aren't standing during the singing of the national anthem, but the feeling around the league is that this time there won't be any discipline handed down if players decide to peacefully protest prior to games this season.
Coming back to the original source of taking a knee during the anthem with Colin Kaepernick, NBA players have talked and decided they would also like to use their platform to protest once the season begins, and Jared Sullinger is in full agreement.
What Colin Kaepernick is doing speaks volumes about himself. It shows that he wants peace.”
Players have voiced their opinions on twitter and other social media outlets, but now that the season is beginning, they plan to take action together. Even LeBron James has commented his support for peaceful protests such as this, although he himself won't take part in it.
Sullinger added:
“It's a touchy subject, but it's reality. I have a voice and I want my voice to be heard. Twitter's a start. I just want people to understand that things are not really headed in the right direction where we want America, and the only way we can change it is by us, the people. If we want change, we must change within ourselves. We can't just say we want change and go out there and do the same thing that we've been doing.”
It's okay to be excited for the upcoming season, just be ready for the controversy as well.
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