Disrespecting the country by walking off the basketball court is part of a new initiative adopted by the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) that is somehow supposed to heighten the public's awareness of racial injustices in the United States. Rather than standing united behind the flag, the WNBA has chosen to stand behind the divisive Black Lives Matter movement that supports defunding police departments.
Earlier this month, the WNBA and the Women's National Basketball Players Association announced a new initiative reportedly aimed at addressing the nation's "long history of inequality, implicit bias and racism." As part of the new initiative, players will don jerseys showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement and, apparently, will walk away whenever the national anthem starts playing.
On Saturday, players for the New York Liberty and the Seattle Storm retreated to the locker room as soon as the national anthem began to play.
As the national anthem was played, the @nyliberty and @seattlestorm walked off the floor as part of the social justice initiative. pic.twitter.com/VihH5X3Yzh
— ESPN (@espn) July 25, 2020
Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, has condemned the league's new initiative, saying there should be "less—not more politics in sports." The Georgia Republican proposed that the league put the American flag on every jersey and call for unity by celebrating "the values of freedom and equality for all." The senator's proposal was clearly ignored.
A far cry from wearing an American flag, WNBA players will spend the remainder of the 2020 season walking away in protest whenever the national anthem starts playing.
