The Bucks made a demonstration during Monday's preseason game, but coach Jason Kidd wants to make it clear that it wasn't a protest.
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 4, 2016
"It's not a protest," Kidd said before the game. "We're not protesting. We're showing unity. There's not a protest."
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NBA players are required to stand for the national anthem, so when a team does anything extra during the anthem, many believe they are joining in on the protest started by the NFL's Colin Kaepernick. But Kidd made it clear his team (which stood in a line with each player putting his left arm around the man next to him) was displaying unity.
"I think they've covered every base, and I think it's just showing awareness," Kidd said. "I think it's for [the team] to discuss and talk about because I think it's really nice of them and special that they came together as a unit and be unified. It just shows our growth for a young team."
Jabari Parker, who posted a photo of himself on Instagram wearing a Kaepernick jersey a few weeks ago, also discussed the team's demonstration.
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"It just shows that through it all, thick and thin, you've got to have each other's back," Parker said after the game. "Regardless of your skin color, regardless of your race or where you come from if you see something happening you've got to speak up, you've got to stand for change. It doesn't even have to be a black person for me to show my appreciation for them. It can be any cause, any culture."
