NBA not expecting players to take a knee

President Donald Trump’s comments and tweets about NFL players who take a knee during the national anthem — and the league’s response, from owners to players — has dominated headlines. They also have led to plenty of discussion about what, if anything, NBA players will do during the anthem when preseason games begin this weekend or when the regular season begins.

There is one significant difference, however, between the two leagues: The NFL has no rule about what players should do during the anthem. The NBA does.

“We have a rule that requires our players to stand for the anthem,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said at his news conference following the conclusion of this week’s Board of Governors meetings in New York. “It’s been our rule for as long as I’ve been involved with the league, and my expectation is that our players will continue to stand for the anthem.”

The rule, which states players, coaches and trainers “should remain reasonably still, stand tall in a straight and orderly line, and act in a respectful manner through the period,” was enacted decades ago and was originally meant as nothing more than to ensure players weren’t shooting around or stretching while the anthem was being played before a game.

But now, in the age of Trump, enforcing the rule could come in a very different context.

Earlier, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry said he and his teammates still hadn’t decided whether they would do anything during the anthem. The Warriors, who were disinvited from the traditional White House visit league champions make via a Trump tweet Saturday — an invitation they likely would have turned down chance.

When Silver was asked directly what would happen if a player chose to kneel or undertake some other form of protest during the anthem, he said, “If that were to happen, we’ll deal with it when it happens.”

The league’s operations manual states: “Violations of these rules will subject the team, player and/or the relevant team personnel to appropriate action.” In other words, wide latitude is given to the league office to levy discipline in such a matter - and it’s hard to see how the NBA would want to wade into a cultural fight with its players, if they chose to do so, with heavy penalties.

Still, Silver made it clear on multiple occasions how he preferred the players would handle the situation.

“It’s my hope our players will continue to use that as a moment of unity,” Silver said. “For example, many of our teams locked arms during the anthem, which I felt was a respectful show of unity. Many of our players have spoken out already about their plan to stand during the anthem, and I think they understand how divisive an issue it is in our society right now.” if given the