NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas blasted the NFL for playing the so-called “black national anthem” because it is “emphasizing our separateness,” not promoting national unity and healing. Thomas made his comments in a discussion with columnist Jason Whitlock on an episode of The Blaze’s Fearless with Jason Whitlock. “When you sing the national anthem, and then you sing the black national anthem, the only thing that it does is it’s emphasizing our separateness,” Thomas insisted.
Politics Rumors
Barack Obama honors Bill Russell in Hall of Fame ceremony
The Undefeated: Barack Obama congratulates Bill Russell on his @Hoophall induction. “I could not be more honored to celebrate Bill Russell for the way he played, the way he coached, the way he led, the way he lives he lives his life.” #NBAHOF (via @NBATV)
This was probably a first for a Phoenix Common Council meeting: an elected official wearing a Giannis Antetokounmpo jersey. That was the attire worn by Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego during Tuesday’s meeting. Gallego presided over the meeting and discussed everything from transportation funding, street paving, COVID and other topics all while wearing a No. 34 navy green Bucks jersey of the NBA Finals MVP.
Gallego was following through on a friendly bet she and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett made at the start of the NBA Finals in July. The mayor of the losing team would have to publicly wear a jersey of the opposing team and send a package of local goodies to the winner.
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell became a thorn in the side of Utah lawmakers who were trying to pass legislation banning critical race theory in local schools. A newly-released video from May showed Republican state senate president Stuart Adams calling out Mitchell, insinuating that he didn’t understand the proposed reform. “I hate to use names, but I will,” Adams said in the clip. “Donovan Mitchell is not happy with us. And you start to get … very popular sports stars like that that are pushing back. We’ve got work to do to try to educate them. My text back was, ‘Let’s get after him and let’s go tell him what we’re doing,’ because I don’t really think he understands what happened.”
Mitchell gave his thoughts on the proposed legislation in May. “I think the biggest thing, the part that I really stand for, is education, and being able to educate our children on racial history,” Mitchell said. “I think that’s huge. I think that’s a big part of it, understanding the foundation of how we got to this point.” New Jazz franchisee Ryan Smith supported Mitchell publicly on Thursday, writing “When it comes to important issues like race, we have to start from a position of listening, not “educating” … and listening to our players’ experiences is a great place to start.”
One of Utah’s legislative leaders is getting backlash on social media after a video began circulating Wednesday that shows him talking about Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell’s vocal pushback on Utah lawmakers’ handling of critical race theory. In the video, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, can be seen participating on a panel with other conservative leaders from across the nation in May, a day after the Utah Legislature called its own “extraordinary session” to pass a pair of nonbinding resolutions urging the State School Board to ban what lawmakers considered “harmful” critical race theory concepts.
