By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com
This is an item that likely shouldn’t give me much of a reason to get upset, but in a strange way it does bother me.
Mark Cuban, the flamboyant and mouthy owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, has decided to no longer allow the National Anthem to be played at the start of Mavericks games at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas.
I guess Cuban is tired of fighting the ongoing battle over whether athletes should be allowed to “take a knee” to protest police brutality — chiefly against people of color — in cities across the nation. The NBA has issued statements in support of players’ actions when the Anthem gets played.
Perhaps the decision by the Mavs’ owner to no longer allow the Anthem to be played and sung at the AA Center is his way of cutting his losses, or seeking a path of lesser resistance.
Make no mistake about this: I am highly unlikely to attend a Mavs game any time soon. It’s too expensive for little ol’ fixed-income, retired me. Plus, I live about 30 miles north of the arena and parking downtown can be a hassle; I’m too old for that kind of grief, you know?
However, I do enjoy the sound of the Anthem at sporting events. It’s a bit of Americana played out in real time.
Am I nuts about the athletes’ protests, their “taking a knee” while the Anthem is played? Not really. It’s not the way I would express my displeasure over government policy. However, I respect that form of protest as a peaceful expression of disagreement. Thus, I am conflicted somewhat by the entire matter.
Whatever …
It’s Mark Cuban’s team. He has all the money he can ever spend and his face can be seen all over the place, given his role on a broadcast network TV reality show and his penchant for making a spectacle of himself.
Cuban’s decision to ban the National Anthem at Mavericks games irks me … but I’ll get over it.
John,
I hear you….but I have to just ask…why do we have to have the anthem at all of these sporting events? It’s taking place in the US…but it’s not a government sponsored event…not sanctioned by the government in any way…I’ve wondered about this for years. It is a reminder of who we are and where we are but…really? Why is it necessary? I sing and have taught the anthem to my students for years…but insisting it be played at hockey games, football games, basketball games, soccer games, rodeos, baseball games…if anything it devalues the singing of it by mindless repetition…And frankly, the way many Americans are acting these days…worshipping Trump believing the election was “stolen”, storming our Capitol, killing cops, their behavior is far worse than athletes taking a knee. I for one will not miss our moment of feigned patriotism singing the National anthem at a sporting events.
JoLynne Thomas Hough