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Mark Cuban Was Right To End The Pregame National Anthem
The Danger Of Mandated Patriotism
Early this morning I read the news that Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, had decided to end the pregame playing of the national anthem. I was glad to see it, and am disappointed that he has since changed his mind under pressure from the NBA.
Cuban’s Reasoning
According to The Athletic, Cuban at one point tweeted,
“The National Anthem Police in this country are out of control. If you want to complain, complain to your boss and ask why they don’t play the National Anthem every day before you start work.”
Consider the truth in that tweet. Remember when Colin Kaepernick was made an object of hate and scorn by the Right (and blackballed by the NFL) for kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police violence against unarmed Black men and women? Here’s the public opinion of the sitting president at the time: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b**** off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’”
So if it was Kaepernick’s job to stand with hand over heart for the national anthem, does that mean that if CEOs demand that before every shift at work, every worker…
