Four years before they represent the United States in the Olympic Summer Games 2024, various members of that team – LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo – participated Kneeling during the national anthem To protest against racial injustice; Stephen Curry participated in 2021, hours after the Capitol riots.
When they do this, there were evoking that the two did not respect a country that they actually did not want to be part of. Representing the stars and stripes, however On the largest stage Seems to say otherwise.
The search of James and Davis for a gold medal last summer could be seen in a new Netflix documentary, entitled “Court of Gold”, which followed the American, French, Serbian and Canadian national teams in Paris.
The six -part doc was released last week.
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LeBron James with medal and kneeling for the national anthem. (Imagn)
Director Jake Rogal said he never discussed politics with one of the players, but he was certainly able to tell that they had not obvious their country, despite problems they might have had with it in the past.
“I think you are proud of where you come from, even if you are not happy with what things are,” Rogal said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. “I think we are in a polarizing, tumultuous environment. And I think it will happen, whether you like it or not, this is where you come from, and you want to put your best foot ahead to represent that.”
It certainly seems that most NBA players born in America would rather give the competition titles over gold medals, but at the moment it certainly saw it hard to say. In Crunch -especially in the semi -final and finals, everyone could easily see how important those games were.
Rogal, however, said that the 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 that we came back fairly consistently was that they are two different experiences, so you can’t compare them,” said Rogal. “The NBA championship is a whole season, and you build that up, and it is your job. The Olympic Games are for your country, and it is a fast hit, and it is as if it is the same sport, they are two different performance … I don’t think they are similar. I think they are both especially for their own reasons.”
United States guard Kevin Durant, #7, guard LeBron James, #6, and shooting guard Stephen Curry, #4, celebrate after the game against Serbia in a semi -final of the men’s basketball during the Olympic Summer Games in Paris in Accor Arena. (Rob Schumacher-usa Today Sports)
The Olympic Games were far away from the All-Star Break, for example. The last minutes of the gold medal play, when Stephen Curry scammed it and wore the Americans to the gold, peaked at 22.7 million viewers. It was the most viewed gold medal play since 1996; However, This year’s all-star game The second lowest was rated since the turn of the century, with an average of only 4.7 million viewers.
The NBA festivities were surpassed by the NHL’s 4 Nations TournamentAs more than 9 million took the final of the US canada (although fighting and political tensions certainly played roles).
Nevertheless, in view of the emotions of these Olympic Games in the past, Rogal feels that NBA players would be entirely to follow the NHL’s footsteps by introducing an international tournament for the All-Star Break.
United States shooting guard Stephen Curry, #4, and guard LeBron James, #6, celebrate after beating France in the Gold Medal Game for men’s basketball during the Olympic Summer Games in Paris in Accor Arena. (Rob Schumacher-usa Today Sports)
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“I think every time your country picks up, it increases the bet. It makes things more attractive. It immediately adds emotion. It adds competitiveness,” Rogal said. “So I think it is smart at any time to get national competition in the mix. Whether that is an All-Star game or an Olympic Games, I think you would get a more competitive reaction if you add land because it is so personal. I think it can rely on them.”
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