The NBA star has been a vocal critic of the NFL, and he is not shy about expressing his opinion. In fact, he’s been so outspoken that the league fined him $50,000 for comments made on social media.
Isaiah Thomas is a retired basketball player who played for the Boston Celtics. He has been recently inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame, and is currently playing in China.
The NFL’s practice of playing the Black National Anthem before every game irritates Isaiah Thomas.
The Detroit Pistons point guard is apprehensive about performing the song “Emphasizes our Separation.”
The NFL’s use of the so-called “Black national anthem” before every game this season has irritated Isaiah Thomas. It’s “emphasizing our separateness” rather than potential reunion, according to the legendary point guard from the “Bad Boys” era. This ship, on the other hand, may have already sailed politically.
On one episode of the great Jason Whitlock’s podcast Fearless with Jason Whitlock, the Naismith Hall of Famer made the comments (also broadcast on The Blaze). The two spoke on a variety of racial problems from both ends of the cultural spectrum for almost two hours. The consensus that the real national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner, is meant for all Americans was perhaps the most important lesson. True, it was written before minorities enjoyed complete equality. However, it should be embraced as a rallying cry for unification by all groups.
James Weldon Johnson wrote Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing, which was originally sung in 1900 to commemorate Abraham Lincoln’s 91st birthday. It was a little-known work that described slavery and the many emotions that enslaved people experienced. Activists would hail the singing of this song as a major triumph for social justice. They do, however, omit the last line, which they are presumably unaware of: “May we forever stand/True to our God/True to our home land.” They didn’t get the decisive win they were hoping for. Until Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009, this was never a popular song or well-known. There, the 44th President attempted to unify the nation by using the dividing concept of two distinct but equal anthems, which he would further divide in coming years. When Joe Biden supporter Richard Spencer appeared on campus in 2017, students at the University of Florida used the song to irritate him.
During his time as head coach of the New York Knicks, Isaiah was one of the first victims of cancel culture techniques, with an unfounded allegation of sexual harassment leveled against him. Anucha Browne Sanders concocted a sleazy story about the team’s indecent exposure and Stephon Marbury, the team’s star at the time, boasting about his sexual escapades. To resolve the issue, Sanders, Madison Square Garden, and Thomas agreed to a $11,600,000 settlement, with Thomas losing his position soon after.
“Our Founding Fathers were talking about bringing us all together under one roof, under one constitution, where all men and women are created equal when they drafted the constitution and everything else. When you sing those two distinct anthems, you’re simply highlighting the fact that this nation has two different statuses: black and white,” Thomas said to Whitlock.
Thomas stated the concept of race is utilized as a tool for separation and is a flawed sociological construct to split people into groups over, similar to what Charles Barkley said earlier this year (referring to the Political Class, “making Whites and Blacks not like one other”). Isaiah learns that although he is Black, he is more vitally an American as he champions his life experiences. “If you want to have one national song, then let us come together as a country and determine what our national anthem will be,” Thomas said. He believes it cannot just be a “White national anthem” because a two-tiered system would sow the seeds of discord once again.
Overall, it’s an interesting listen and one of the more acceptable examinations of liberal and conservative points of view participating in polite debate. In today’s world, this is something that is rapidly going extinct. But, in terms of the fundamental issue of separation, when do you cease acting tribally? You have a Black national anthem, for starters. Do you deserve a ‘Latino national anthem’ since the NFL has a sizable Hispanic population? A female, a Jewish, a Chinese (the one for whom Colin Kaepernick kneels), or a Native American? The NFL clearly likes their social justice message, since they’ve decided to double down on it in 2024. At the time, it hasn’t had any effect on viewing. The NFL’s first week attracted 100 million viewers, with the Monday night instant classic between the Ravens and Raiders bringing in the highest ratings for that time slot since 2013.) So Roger Goodell, arguably the most admired person in sports, will see it all as a message that this is the correct path to follow. To ensure that everyone is ‘included,’ kickoff may be a two-hour event each week.
Isaiah Thomas is a professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics. He has been known to make controversial statements on social media, but he took it up a notch recently when he decided to boycott the NFL because they play the black national anthem before every game. Reference: isiah thomas pistons.
