Tyler Trumbauer
National anthem protests have become a norm in sports as of late. Between kneeling, raised fists, and shirts with messages, there have been displays all over professional, and scholastic sports. There would have been somewhat of a protest at the Sixers’ season opener on Wednesday night, but the Sixers didn’t allow it to happen.
Sevyn Streeter alleges that Sixers officials would not allow her to perform the anthem after seeing her “We Matter” shirt.
Was suppose to sing the anthem at @sixers & @okcthunder game but mins b4 @sixers said I couldn’t because I was wearing a “We Matter” jersey pic.twitter.com/wjoJN3rq0r
— Sevyn (@sevyn) October 27, 2016
The Sixers released the following statement after the story went viral, right around the start of the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s game.
The Philadelphia 76ers organization encourages meaningful actions to drive social change. We use our games to bring people together, to build trust and to strengthen our communities. As we move from symbolic gestures to action, we will continue to leverage our platform to positively impact our community.
If this is truly how it went down, the Sixers made a poor decision. Stopping her makes a bigger headline than just letting her sing with the shirt.