LA Clippers players lock arms during national anthem

During the national anthem before their first preseason game, the LA Clippers locked arms in a display of unity.

On Sunday, the LA Clippers played their first preseason game against the Toronto Raptors. In light of professional athletes demonstrating, the players locked arms.

Anthem protests, which were started by Colin Kaepernick last year in protest of police brutality and countless other injustices carried out against black and brown people, have morphed into something completely different. The recent trend of athletes protesting is now aimed at Donald Trump’s recent comments, turning the whole dynamic into a mild, more suitable act for people to get on board with.

The Clippers did what any other NFL or NBA team has done and locked arms during the national anthem. So, it looked like less of a protest and more of just doing something for the sake of it.

"“We did something that we’re all gonna do together and that made the most sense,” Blake Griffin said, when asked about it after the game."

The Clippers are no stranger to social protest. You probably remember a few years ago, when we found out that the owner wasn’t as racially tolerant and morally sound as we had hoped. In response to that, the Clippers staged an epic silent protest, all within NBA rules, that got their point across perfectly.

But, that was in 2014, and only 2 players are still on the team that were on the team then. And those 2 players aren’t exactly the most outspoken.

However, the Clippers did have things to say about the current state of sports and politics. Their thoughts and opinions were a common topic discussed during media day.

Clippers’ thoughts and opinions

"“I think it’s important for guys to speak their minds,” Blake said. “I think everybody has an opinion, and I think the biggest thing to do with that is to respect people’s opinions.” DeAndre Jordan agreed."

Coach Doc Rivers also had words to say.

"“I don’t think anyone is upset at making America great. I think we’re all upset at the word ‘again’,” Doc said when asked about Trump. “If Donald Trump did his job, players would not be kneeling.”"

Even Steve Ballmer took a stance by tweeting this:

Lou WiIliams, on the other hand, wants people to remember why the protests started.

"“This is about police brutality and everybody looking for equality,” he said. “I think [NFL] protests have been a direct response to what the president said, and I just want us to be mindful of how this stuff started in the first place.”"

Williams finished it off with this:

"“If we’re gonna protest something, I want it to be about the actual issues at hand and not just us being spiteful.”"

Next: 10 Takeaways from the Clippers' first preseason game

Austin Rivers made similar comments.

“A lot of attention is on who is kneeling and who is sitting down instead of why,” Austin said. “We’re talking about tweets and kneels and less about the families who are in pain and people who are suffering.”

Deciding on how to act

The team did come together as a group and decide how they would protest. Since the NBA has a rule against kneeling, several teams have talked about their different options. The Clippers met with a group of military members at Pearl Harbor and discussed the protests. Doc Rivers thinks the talks were beneficial for all.

"“The great part about our country is that there is no one view, and I thought that was great last night, just listening to all the guys talk about it,” Rivers said. “Several [in the military] said they would never protest the flag. Some said they would. What I love about our military, they understand the politics, but they don’t get involved in it. Their job is to protect and serve, and I thought that was a really great message to our guys.”"

The talk surrounding athletes and protesting won’t go away any time soon. People will continue to take different sides. However, it seems like the Clippers will stand together in whatever they do.