The 76ers could have a bit of a public relations problem on their hands.
Popular R&B singer Sevyn Streeter was all set to sing the national anthem at the Wells Fargo Center before Philadelphia took on the Thunder in its season opener Wednesday night. Moments before she was to take the mic at halfcourt, she said, she was told her services would not be needed.
Why?
Streeter says it's because she was wearing a black jersey which read, "We Matter."
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Streeter went to social media, voicing her frustration about the incident to her 166,000 Twitter followers.
Was suppose to sing the anthem at @sixers & @okcthunder game but mins b4 @sixers said I couldn't because I was wearing a "We Matter" jersey pic.twitter.com/wjoJN3rq0r
— Sevyn (@sevyn) October 27, 2016
The 76ers did not immediately respond to Sporting News' request for comment.
Later, the team released the following statement:
Sevyn Streeter: Sixers wouldn’t let me sing because of my #BLM shirt
— Billy Penn (@billy_penn) October 27, 2016
The Sixers gave us this statement https://t.co/IP8xcDoSeh pic.twitter.com/iHiNXJCRrX