Before Wednesday night’s home and season opener tipped off, the Dallas Mavericks played a video “tribute” to the American flag, asking the audience to stand for the national anthem.
The video is strange. It may not be overtly offensive, but it also isn’t very effective in delivering its message. It’s a meandering narrative that’s tough to follow (there’s a lot about the Mavericks’ past success), but the message appears to be that the American flag has seen lots of great things, represents the pure ideals of America and can bring us together.
The video (in part a response to a memo the league sent out last month) airs against the impossible-to-ignore back drop of recent protests, which started back in 2016 (before the election) with then-quarterback Colin Kaepernick protesting racial inequality and police brutality against minorities during the national anthem before NFL games.