Four years before representing the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, several members of that team: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo, participated in kneeling during the national anthem to protest against racial injustice; Stephen Curry participated in 2021, hours after the Capitol’s riots.
In doing so, there were calls that the two were respecting a country that in fact did not want to be part. However, representing the stars and stripes on the biggest stage seems to say otherwise.
The search for James and Davis by a gold medal last summer appeared in a new Netflix documentary, entitled “Court of Gold”, which followed the American, French, French, Serbs and Canadian teams in Paris.
The six -part document was released last week.
CLICK HERE for more sports coverage at Foxnews.com
LeBron James with a medal and kneeling for the national anthem. (IMAGN)
Director Jake Rogal said he never discussed politics with any of the players, but he could certainly say that they did not assume their country, despite the problems they may have had in the past.
“I think it is proud of where you are, even if you are not happy with how things are,” Rogal said in a recent interview with Pak Gazette Digital. “I think we are in a polarizing and tumultuous environment. And I think whatever happens, he likes it or not, wherever you are and want to give your best foot to represent that.”
Surely it seems that most NBA players born in the United States would prefer the league titles on gold medals, but at the time, surely it seemed difficult to say. In a crispy time, especially in the semifinals and finals, anyone could easily see how important those games were.
However, Rogal said that players find it impossible to compare the two phenomena.
“I don’t know if they compare them, because we asked a question that is similar, and the answer we obtained in a quite consistent way was that they are two different experiences, so you can’t compare them,” Rogal said. “The NBA championship is a season, and you are accumulating that, and it is your work. The Olympic Games are for your country, and it is a fast success, and it is like, although it is the same sport, they are two different achievements … I do not think they are comparable. I think both are special for their own reason for their own reason.”
The United States Guard, Kevin Durant, #7, Guard LeBron James, #6, and the Stephen Curry escort, #4, celebrate after the game against Serbia in a game of male basketball semifinals during the Olympic Summer Games in Paris 2024 at Accor Arena. (Rob Schumacher-USA Today Sports)
The former Bucks guard hit the demand for fans after throwing basketball during the playoff game
The Olympic Games were far from, for example, the rest of the stars. The final minutes of the gold medal game, when Stephen Curry lit it and took the Americans to gold, reached its maximum point at 22.7 million viewers. It was the most watched gold medal game since 1996; However, this year’s All-Star game was the second lowest qualified since the change of the century, with an average of only 4.7 million viewers.
The NBA festivities were surpassed by the 4 NHL nations tournament, since more than 9 million took the final of the United States-Canadá (although the fights and political tensions certainly played papers).
However, given the emotions of these past Olympic Games, Rogal feels that NBA players would be everything to follow the NHL steps by introducing an international tournament for the All-Star Break.
The United States escort, Stephen Curry, #4, and Guard LeBron James, #6, celebrate after defeating France in the Male Basketball Gold Medal Game during the Summer Olympic Games in Paris 2024 at the Arena Accor. (Rob Schumacher-USA Today Sports)
“I think that every time the country includes, bets increase. It makes things more attractive. He adds emotion immediately. He adds competitiveness,” Rogal said. “Then, I think that obtaining the country’s competition in the mixture is intelligent. Whether it is in a game of stars or in an Olympic Games, I think you would get a more competitive response if you add the country because it is very personal. I think it could be attractive to them.”
