The Los Angeles Lakers are unsure of whether they will partake in national anthem protests or not during the upcoming season, but any decision they make will come as a team.
First-year head coach Luke Walton told reporters on Monday that the team’s players and coaches understand the importance of the issues that inspired people like Colin Kaepernick to protest.
“It’s obviously a very serious, important issue,” Walton said, via Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. “I think something needs to be done. This country is too great to have happen what keeps happening. What that is, we’ll decide as a group and continue to talk about what we can do.”
Walton also stressed the importance of making an actual difference versus simply making headlines.
“But I think, most importantly, it’s what we get behind as an organization, individually and as a team,” he said. “I know a lot of the media runs with what happens during the national anthem, which is a very big subject, because it’s touchy from both sides. But to me, it’s about what kind of change can we make. And that comes from getting with organizations that are in action within the community and giving out time, money and whatever else we can to help this problem get fixed.”
Getting an entire team to agree on how to handle such a sensitive issue is easier said than done. As we have seen with the NFL, some players — like those who have raised their fists in the air — are more comfortable with public demonstrations. Other players would rather not get involved, but Julius Randle thinks the Lakers can find common ground.
“I think definitely there’s a way for us to all get together and making an impact on what’s going on,” the forward said. “Guys need to say something, and something needs to be said.”
Perhaps the Lakers will do something like we saw the Seattle Seahawks do earlier this season during the national anthem. They have some time to figure it out.
