The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat knelt for the national anthem Wednesday night, saying they were playing \u201cwith a heavy heart\u201d after a violent mob loyal to US President Donald Trump was able to storm the U.S. Capitol and the decision earlier in the week by a Wisconsin prosecutor not to charge a police officer who shot a Black man last year.<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s scene from the Capitol, where a mob delayed Congress from certifying the results of November\u2019s election and paving the way for President-elect Joe Biden to be sworn in later this month, was widely discussed around the NBA before games occurred that night.<\/p>\n
But that, combined with the prosecutor's decision not to bring charges against the officer who shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, caused the Heat and Celtics to discuss their options. There was some doubt in the hour before tip-off whether the game would occur at all.<\/p>\n
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The teams' statement said, in part: \u201c2021 is a new year, but some things have not changed. We play tonight\u2019s game with a heavy heart after yesterday\u2019s decision in Kenosha, and knowing that protesters in our nation\u2019s capital are treated differently by political leaders depending on what side of certain issues they are on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Celtics discussed the Blake decision earlier in the day, before the events from the Capitol unfolded. The Celtics then met again as a team after arriving at the arena in Miami, where many televisions in the locker room areas \u2014 normally on sports channels \u2014 were on the news.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve operated in a win-at-all-costs attitude,\u201d Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of Trump\u2019s administration. \u201cI don\u2019t know, our sports world is a lot less important, obviously. But I\u2019ve always thought if you operated with a win-at-all-costs attitude, it\u2019s going to be a pretty unfulfilling ending. And in this situation, a disgraceful ending. So, I\u2019m looking forward to two weeks from now, as I know a lot of other people are, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden will be inaugurated exactly two weeks from Wednesday, on Jan. 20.<\/p>\n