Pelicans, Jazz and Lakers, Clippers lock arms and kneel during national anthem before NBA restart openers

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Before taking a shot, bouncing a ball or drawing up a play, the NBA’s players, coaches and referees performed another gesture that highlighted their aspirations go beyond resuming the season during the coronavirus pandemic.

All players and coaches with the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz wore "Black Lives Matter" shirts and locked arms while the NBA played a public service announcement about systemic racism. Then they all knelt during the national anthem to protest systemic racism ahead of their game Thursday at HP Field House at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex. The Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers performed the same gesture nearly two months after a white police officer killed George Floyd, an unarmed Black man by kneeling on him for just under nine minutes.

"My knee hurt in the middle of it. I'm thinking, 'In two minutes my knee is hurting, yet there was a guy that had his knee on someone's neck for eight minutes,' " Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "Think about that.The national anthem took two minutes. There were guys that needed towels and things to get under their knees. Yet someone kneeled on another human being's neck for eight minutes. That's nuts when you think about it."

The symbolic gesture was the first time NBA players have kneeled during the national anthem since former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick began doing it four years ago. The NBA has a rule that states "players, coaches and trainers are to stand and line up in a dignified posture along the sidelines or on the foul line during the playing of the national anthem." The league adopted this rule in 1981 and has enforced it since then. Given the circumstances in the U.S. as citizens protest social injustices, however, NBA players are using their voices to spotlight important issues.

"The NBPA and the NBA and all the players just came to a consensus that kneeling was best – something we could do as a league and be unified," Lakers forward Anthony Davis said. "We go out here and play – not for us, but for everything that's going on around the world."

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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver attended the league’s restart, and has said in past years that the league expects players, coaches and staff members to follow the anthem rule. Not on Thursday, though.

"I respect our teams' unified act of peaceful protest for social justice,” Silver said in a statement. "Under these unique circumstances we will not enforce our long-standing rule requiring standing during the playing of our national anthem."

Players from both teams also wore messages on the back of their jerseys ranging from "Black Lives Matter" to "Equality" to "I Can't Breathe" to "Say Their Names" to "Education Reform" to "Ally" among other league- and union-approved messages. The Lakers' LeBron James and Anthony Davis as well as the Clippers' Kawhi Leonard kept their last names on their jerseys. 

"I was proud to do it and proud to support our players and proud to support the African American community and proud to support racial justice," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. "We got the greatest country in the world, but we’re flawed. Protesting the way we did is patriotic. Non-violent protests are patriotic. That’s what we learned from (late Rep.) John Lewis. For me to be able to be a part of that and support racial justice the way we did, I’m very proud to be a part of it. It’s not about disrespecting the flag or the military. Nobody supports the military as much as the NBA programs that we have." 

National Basketball Referees Association spokesperson Mark Denesuk said in a statement, "BLACK LIVES MATTER. Social justice and bringing awareness to the inequitable treatment of black and brown people in America are very important to our diverse membership, and we felt a responsibility to use our visibility as the NBA season resumes to promote awareness and inspire anti-racist action in our nation and around the world."

Earlier on Thursday, the NBPA tweeted, "While the season is back, our focus remains the same. #BlackLivesMatter" with images that read "Breonna Taylor's murderers still have not been arrested and ... There are over 660K deaths worldwide due to COVID-19 and ... Election Day is Tuesday November 3, 2020 and ... voter suppression continues to deny the rights of BIPOC communities and ... our fight will not stop."

Follow NBA reporters Mark Medina and Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter.