Pat Inniss Website: No Free Speech in the NBA

The thought police were at work in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1996. One of the premier players, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, observed that the history of the United States is largely composed of bigotry and oppression, hardly anything to stand up and cheer about. When he refused to pay homage to the symbols of our nation's heritage, he met severe consequences and stinging criticism.

Unfortunately for Mr. Abdul-Rauf, his contract with the Denver Nuggets contained a standard clause requiring him to stand with the rest of the team during the National Anthem. All season, however, he had remained in the locker room until the Anthem was over. The league finally took action by suspending him, without pay, until he agreed to comply.

Faced with the prospect of a long suspension and expensive legal battle, Abdul-Rauf backed down from his initial stance and was soon lining up with the rest of the players. He explained that he was persuaded by Muslim scholars that he could in good conscience respect both the flag and his Muslim faith. But Abdul-Rauf did succeed in resurrecting important issues which deserve a fresh examination by a whole new generation of Americans.

Abdul-Rauf's objections to respecting the National Anthem were based on two primary factors: his moral system, based on his Islamic beliefs; and his sensitivity to the sufferings that African Americans and others have experienced at the hands of the United States. Although Mr. Abdul-Rauf is an African-American Muslim, it is obvious that all people should have moral standards and be sensitive to the suffering of others. On those grounds alone, Abdul-Rauf perhaps deserves no special admiration. Few, however, would take a stand as he did.

Significantly, most of the discussion focused on a very basic issue: Did Abdul-Rauf have the right to refuse participation in an in event whose primary purpose is to express reverence for the nation? Well, maybe some of us don't revere the nation, or certainly not its checkered history. Should that fact cause us to lose our jobs? If Abdul-Rauf can be blacklisted out of the NBA because he refuses to participate in a display of patriotism, then we haven't made much progress since the Red-baiting days of Joe McCarthy. There should be no question: every person, in every job, must be permitted freedom to hold whatever political and philosophical views they so please, and act accordingly so long as those actions do not infringe upon the rights of others. That's what's called freedom. The case of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf proved once again that we still don't really have it here in America.

This issue of basic political freedom unfortunately overshadowed the reasons why Abdul-Rauf felt he would be a hypocrite to respect the National Anthem. For instance, the Star Spangled Banner celebrates the War of 1812, fought against the British. At that time the United States still sanctioned slavery, while it was illegal in England. Can any person cheer the victory of a government that would not extend to black people the most elemental freedoms? That line "Land of the free" rings pretty hollow.

There is just no getting away from it: the USA became what is today largely though the genocide and dislocation of the indigenous people and the enslavement of another group. All nations have sad chapters in their history, but few have achieved so much evil in so short a period of time. Blind patriotism would have us ignore these facts, and punish those who disagree. But this history holds important lessons for today. So when it comes to the National Anthem, I'll take it sitting down.