A tradition in all sporting events taking place in the United States is the voicing, in the previous one, of the national anthem of this country, something that will take a break in the National Basketball Association (NBA), all thanks to the Dallas Mavericks and its controversial owner, the businessman Mark Cuban.
The businessman revealed The athletic who has explicitly ordered that all games played at the American Airlines Center, in the state of Texas, the motherland song is not played Star-Spangled banner, and that this position will remain unchanged during the current 2020-2021 season.
While Cuban himself and of the Mavericks have not publicly given the reasons for this drastic stance, the answer can be found in the words of the entrepreneur during last season’s reboot, in the bubble from Orlando, where players knelt during the national anthem, in protest against systematic racism in America.
The MAVs have stopped playing the national anthem for home games this season and have no plans to continue playing it, a decision by owner Mark Cuban. Https://t.co/cVmEQnUH1V
– The Athletic (@TheAthletic)
February 10, 2021
Mavericks will not sing the national anthem
“Anthem-related policies have gotten out of hand in America. If you want to complain, file a complaint with your boss and ask him why he doesn’t play the national anthem every day when you start working.”, the owner said at the time.
Nevertheless, It’s not the first time the Mavericks haven’t played the US National Anthembecause when they arrived in the NBA, from 1980 to 1996, they preferred to put the number God bless America, something that changed in the mid-90s and remained until the last preseason.
So far, Dallas is the first team to take this drastic stance, something that hasn’t been followed by the rest of the franchises, and it seems difficult for others to follow suit.