2 NBA Stars Secretly Boycotted National Anthem All Year (Video)
2 NBA Stars Secretly Boycotted National Anthem All Year (Video)
Two NBA stars have reportedly secretly boycotted the national anthem all year without anyone realizing it.
Given the sort of politically-related attacks the NBA came under last season, and taking into account what Colin Kaepernick went through when he boycotted the anthem, many are shocked at how tightly this was kept under wraps.
According to Matt Sullivan of GQ, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets both opted to skip the national anthem before games this year.
“After he returned to the court in January, Kyrie Irving began slipping out of pre-game warmups ten minutes before tipoff, disappearing into the shadowy tunnel of an arena — and skipping the national anthem,” Sullivan wrote.
“Kevin Durant would silently follow about a minute after Irving, as the cameras cut to commercial and the lights went down. Their teammate DeAndre Jordan joined, too, before the Brooklyn Nets stars hustled back to the huddle in time for starting lineups.”
This would reportedly go on for the entire season.
“Irving and Jordan declined through representatives to comment for this story, and Durant’s business partners did not respond to a detailed list of questions,” Sullivan continued.
“But five sources close to the stars acknowledge that their disappearing act continued until Brooklyn was eliminated from the postseason last week.”
Video evidence seems to support this:
Mid-April: Here’s Kyrie walking back to the tunnel. KD followed.
Nets staffer says it’s not a bathroom break or extra stretching.
Kyrie + DeAndre declined to comment, KD’s reps didn’t respond to detailed list of questions (7/15) pic.twitter.com/NdZg3s4f9u
— Matt Sullivan (@sullduggery) June 24, 2021
June: Here’s DeAndre Jordan hustling back oncourt as the lights come up after the anthem at Game 2 of Nets playoffs series vs. Bucks.
DJ used to stand there and remember a friend who died in a car accident but hasn’t been out for The Star-Spangled Banner this year. (9/15) pic.twitter.com/yDTZWShy3c
— Matt Sullivan (@sullduggery) June 24, 2021
Earlier this week, a report surfaced suggesting the Nets were tired of the off-the-court distractions that accompanied Irving and that a trade was feasible.
Irving has had a crazy last few months. He got hurt in the Nets’ playoff series against the Bucks, culminating in his squad getting bounced from the postseason. Prior to that he was involved in a messy debacle that left some calling for his arrest.
The Bucks owner’s daughter decided to bring 2021 in with a bang by stripping all her clothes off. https://t.co/UgzhEEna4o
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 7, 2021
Durant has been similarly mired in controversy this year. Between creeping on random women and beefs with D-list celebs – it’s just been one distraction after another.
It will be interesting to see what, if anything, comes of these most recent revelations. Does anyone actually care about national anthem boycotts anymore? Time will tell.
Related: Paulina Gretzky Goes Topless For Dustin Johnson’s Birthday (Photos)
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.