Is the national anthem played at basketball games?
The NBA has always required the performing of the national anthem before games, but this season the league granted clubs freedom to skip the ceremony. The anthem will be played prior to every game with the exception of Sunday games, when it can be postponed by management. The National Basketball Association (NBA) requires that an official representative of the United States government perform the national anthem before all regular season NBA games. The representative is usually a military officer or employee of one of the branches of the U.S. government who is assigned to play during home games in major sports venues within the country. The rule was added by then-commissioner David Stern during the 1979-80 season. At the time, only athletes from the American Samoa national team were allowed to wear jerseys with their countries' names and flags on them. Otherwise, they could not compete under their native country's flag because they were considered representatives of the United States government. The rule was meant to bring fairness to international competitions such as the Olympic Games and World Championships in which Americans were denied the right to wear their own colors on their uniforms. Although the NBA has required that the national anthem be performed for most games since its inception, there have been times when managers have decided not to have it played.