This Time the National Anthem Singer Took a Knee

The performance of the national anthem at the start of a sports game is so ubiquitous that many people barely give it a thought. But earlier this year, Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers ignited a powder keg when he opted to sit — and later kneel — through the song.

Kaepernick did so in protest of the ongoing violence against people of color in the United States, stating that he did not want to “stand up and show pride in a country” that oppresses people of color. His protest has spread like wildfire — and not just through the NFL. Other sports leagues took notice, and the gesture has included athletes like soccer star Megan Rapinoe, as well as coaches – and on more than one occasion, the band playing the anthem.

Now, breast cancer survivor Leah Tysse has joined their ranks, opting to drop to one knee partway through singing the national anthem at an NBA game. Her choice symbolized solidarity with people of color throughout the nation, including the members of the Sacramento Kings who locked arms while she sang.

While many on the right — along with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg – have been dismissive or actively hostile to the movement, it has become a powerful gesture, perhaps made all the more potent by critics.

Just as athletes ruffled feathers by wearing Black Lives Matter shirts to games, or raising fists in salute on the Olympic podium and during the national anthem, those who are choosing to sit out the national anthem are making a statement about America.

It’s an expression of their free speech rights, but also a powerful comment for those who often think of sports as apolitical: Athletes have opinions and values, and some of them are directly impacted by police violence.

“I have sung the anthem before but this time taking a knee felt like the most patriotic thing I could do,” Tysse wrote on Facebook.

She continued, commenting on the nature of white privilege and the need for white Americans to pay attention to what’s going on around them:

Whether or not you can see if from your vantage point, there is a deep system of institutionalized racism in America, from everyday discrimination to disproportionate incarceration of people of color to people losing their lives at the hands of the police simply for being black. This is not who we claim to be as a nation. It is wrong and I won’t stand for it.

At least one of the fellow breast cancer survivors who attended the game as part of an event was furious, dismissing her actions as a “distraction” and suggesting that Tysse “stick to singing.” The woman insisted that the event should have been about breast cancer and “helping women,” but she missed the mark.

Many breast cancer awareness campaigns add little substantive commentary to the existing dialogue surrounding cancer: Most people are aware that breast cancer exists, but they aren’t aware of how to take meaningful steps to help breast cancer patients.

While Tysse may not have intended it this way, drawing attention to the value of black lives at a breast cancer event was particularly apt.

Black women are less likely to get breast cancer, but they’re paradoxically more likely to die of it, thanks to extreme health care disparities in America. Tysse’s comments about white privilege and policing apply to health care disparities as well, with white Americans having access to far more health care opportunities than people of color.

Declaring that Black Lives Matter at an event about breast cancer is, in fact, an excellent way to raise awareness about the unjust racial imbalances surrounding diagnoses and treatment.

Photo Credit: Kevin Morris/Unspalsh