NBA Teams Reportedly Plan to Kneel During National Anthem on Opening Night

When the NBA season resumes starting on July 30, players intend to kneel during the national anthem. 

Per Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, the eight teams staying at the Gran Destino Tower—the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Miami Heat—had a meeting to discuss kneeling when play restarts. 

"One of the first on-court actions will be kneeling opening night," a player told Turner. 

The Athletic's Sam Amick reported Wednesday that kneeling was "likely coming" when games resume and the NBA "would not discipline players who protest peacefully and respectfully."

As the league finalized plans to resume the season, the NBA and National Basketball Players Association announced they will work to promote social justice and combat systemic racism throughout their time in the Orlando, Florida-area campus:

"The group that met yesterday agreed in principle that the goal of the season restart in Orlando will be to take collective action to combat systemic racism and promote social justice.  Conversations also covered strategies to increase Black representation across the NBA and its teams, ensure greater inclusion of Black-owned and operated businesses across NBA business activities, and form an NBA foundation to expand educational and economic development opportunities across the Black community."

The NBA has an official rule that players, coaches and staffers must stand for the national anthem, and it was noted in 2017 that anyone who violated the rule would be subject to discipline by the league. 

No player has kneeled during the national anthem prior to a game since Denver Nuggets guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf refused to stand in March 1996. He was suspended without pay for one game by then-commissioner David Stern. 

There are two games scheduled for the first day of the NBA season restart on July 30, starting with the New Orleans Pelicans vs. Utah Jazz at 6:30 p.m. ET and followed by the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers at 9 p.m. ET.