Adam Silver releases statement in support of NBA players kneeling

Adam Silver supports the right to protest during the national anthem.

The NBA has found a way to safely return to play during a global pandemic. The league is filled with intelligent individuals and the leadership of Adam Silver is unmatched in terms of professional sports commissioners in this country.

He stands behind the players and coaches in the NBA and there was no question of him not supporting the decision to take a knee during the national anthem. The Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans opened the NBA restart Thursday night, and everyone on the court took a knee with locked arms during the anthem.

As expected, Silver released a statement in support of their decision during the game, choosing not to enforce a 1981 rule that dictates players should stand during the national anthem.

Adam Silver’s consistent leadership

Silver was able to see the NFL botch this similar situation and has taken an entirely different approach. He oversees a far more progressive league and the players made it clear they wanted to focus on social justice issues if they were to enter the bubble in Orlando and return to play.

The commissioner embraced the idea and was smart to realize that fighting against the players’ wishes would only lead to bad things. Anyone openly fighting against what the players are doing is simply choosing to ignore what they are saying. The same thing happened with those ignoring Colin Kaepernick’s true message with his own act of kneeling that jumpstarted this movement.

Silver’s statement also properly acknowledged the act as a “peaceful protest.” The players are fighting for change and the simple act speaks volumes.

The commissioner is not perfect and any tweet mentioning him will usually bring replies about the NBA’s involvement in China. However, Silver is handling this situation properly and avoided a controversy by actually listening to the players. That is a great lesson for the likes of Roger Goodell and Rob Manfred.