NBA Says All Teams Will Play The National Anthem At Games

After it was reported that the Dallas Mavericks had not played the national anthem this season, NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass issued a statement on Wednesday reaffirming the league's policy. 

“With NBA teams now in process of welcoming fans back into their arenas, all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy.”

In response to the mandate, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told the New York Times, "We are good with it." 

Cuban confirmed to The Athletic that the national anthem will be played before the Mavericks take on Atlanta on Wednesday night. He later issued an official statement, stating that the team does and "always have respected the passion people have for the anthem and our country," but "we also loudly hear the voices of those who feel that the anthem does not represent them."

The owner stressed how those individuals need to be "respected and heard, because they have not been."

“Going forward, our hope is that people will take the same passion they have for this issue and apply the same amount of energy to listen to those who feel differently from them. Only then can we move forward and have courageous conversations that move this country forward and find what unites us." 

Cuban made the decision to not play the national anthem prior to Mavericks games before the start of the NBA season, according to The Athletic. It had not been played before the franchise's 13 preseason and regular-season home games.

Sources close to Cuban told The Athletic's Shams Charania that the team reportedly stopped playing the national anthem before games "because many feel anthem doesn’t represent them."

The Mavericks did not publicize the move and some team employees told The Athletic that they discovered the change on their own. 

However, an NBA spokesperson told The Athletic on Tuesday that “under the unique circumstances of this season, teams are permitted to run their pregame operations as they see fit.” 

The NBA requires players to stand during the anthem. However, the policy has not been enforced in recent years. 

Many athletes on all levels of competition have chosen to kneel during the anthem as a form of protest against racial and social injustice and in support of Black Lives Matter.

In wake of the news, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced the "Star Spangled Banner Protection Act" would be filed during the current state legislative session. The bill would require the national anthem to be played at "all events which receive public funding."