Metta World Peace Says He Wouldn't Kneel For The National Anthem

Metta World Peace says he wouldn't kneel for the National Anthem.

BYCole Blake
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Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

Former NBA champion Metta World Peace says he would not kneel during the National Anthem if he was still playing.

Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

”I think everybody deserves to have an opinion. You know, me personally, I wouldn’t kneel either. Ain’t no way I’m not kneeling to anyone,” he told TMZ, when asked about Orlando Magic’s Jonathan Isaac. “I’m not kneeling to someone I don’t like. I’m not kneeling for forgiveness.”

”I just wouldn’t kneel because if I kneel I am submitting to my enemy. I would never kneel to my enemy,” Metta said.

Isaac was the first player not to kneel during the anthem since the NBA's restart. He explained his decision afterward saying, “I believe that Black Lives Matter. A lot went into my decision, and part of it is, I thought that kneeling or wearing the Black Lives Matter t-shirt doesn’t go hand-in-hand with supporting Black lives. So I felt like, just me personally, what is that I believe is taking on a stance that, I do believe that Black lives matter, but I just felt like it was a decision that I had to make, and I didn’t feel like putting that shirt on and kneeling went hand in hand with supporting Black lives. I believe that for myself, my life has been supported by gospel, Jesus Christ, and everyone is made in the image of God and that we all forge through God’s glory.”

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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.