Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic and small forward Evan Fournier spoke out on Jonathan Isaac's decision to stand during the national anthem and not wear a Black Lives Matter shirt on Friday.
As expected, Vucevic, Fournier and Magic head coach Steve Clifford supported Issac.
“He had his personal reasons for deciding to stand, so if he wants to share that with you guys, I will leave that up to him. Of course, we respect his decision and we know where he stands,” Nikola Vucevic said of Jonathan Isaac's decision.
“That’s his choice and he doesn’t need to (explain),” Magic guard Evan Fournier added.
Issac is the only player so far down in Orlando, Florida to stand during the national anthem. While the NBA didn't expect every player to kneel, it was surprising to see Issac not wear the Black Lives Matter shirt despite telling reporters he believes in the BLM movement.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that players won't be penalized for kneeling during the anthem. The league normally requires players to stand for the anthem, but that rule has been blocked for the bubble games.
The Magic defeated the Nets in their first seeding game. As a result, Orlando is now in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings, while Brooklyn dropped to eighth place with the loss.
Orlando's next game is on Sunday against the Sacramento Kings. They should be favored to win that contest since the Kings are in 10th place in the Western Conference standings.
Last season, the Magic made the playoffs for the first time since 2012. While the team lost to the Toronto Raptors in the first round in five games, it was still a valuable experience for them.
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