After news came down that the Dallas Mavericks weren’t playing the national anthem before home games, the NBA sent out a statement that “all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy,” ruining Mark Cuban’s high hopes of severing ties with the anthem, Your Content has learned.
Owner Mark Cuban said he consulted with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver before making the decision to skip the national anthem prior to games at the American Airlines Center.
“With NBA teams now in the process of welcoming fans back into their arenas, all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy.” NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass told Your Content in a statement.
Cuban also provided the following statement to Your Content:
“We respect and always have respected the passion people have for the anthem and our country. But we also loudly hear the voices of those who do not feel the anthem represents them. We feel that their voices need to be respected and heard, because they have not been. Going forward, our hope is that people will take the same passion they have for this issue and apply the same ammount of energy to listen to those who feel differently from them. Only then can we move forward and have courageous conversations that move this country forward and find what unites us.”