THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 18, 1996 TAG: 9603160004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Last Tuesday the National Basketball Association suspended indefinitely Denver Nuggets high-scoring guard, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, for refusing to stand during the national anthem.
On Thursday Abdul-Rauf backed down, saying he would henceforth stand for the National Anthem and use that time to pray.
Initially Abdul-Rauf, a Muslim, said his religion told him to worship God and only God. By standing for ``The Star-Spangled Banner,'' he said, he would be worshiping the flag. A flag, he asserted, which is a symbol of oppression and tyranny.
To that the National Basketball Association said: ``Fine. You don't stand, you don't play.''
The NBA has a rule that all players must ``line up in a dignified posture'' for the anthem. Abdul-Rauf agreed to play by those rules when he signed his $2.6 million contract with the league.
We are pleased to see that it was Abdul-Rauf who blinked this time and not the NBA.
Apparently Abdul-Rauf this year joined the ranks of Americans unhappy about the rules set for them by their employers: dress codes, inconvenient hours, short coffee breaks. In a free country, everyone - including Abdul-Rauf - is free to seek employment elsewhere.
But when the issue isn't clothing or coffee breaks, but forcing folks to pay respectful attention to the flag, it becomes a weightier matter. After all, there is no law in the United States requiring folks to stand for the national anthem. Indeed, such a law would face an immediate constitutional test.
Like every other American, Abdul-Rauf was free to sit through the national anthem at any NBA game - as long as he was seated in the stands. As a member of an NBA team, however, he agreed to conform to the rules.
This basketball player faced the dilemma many deeply religious Americans encounter: how to reconcile their religious practices with their secular jobs. Some observant Jews, for instance, have avoided employment that would force them to work on the Sabbath. Many devout Christians have passed by jobs requiring them to work on Sundays. Hard choices, indeed.
If Abdul-Rauf had decided that his peculiar interpretation of Islam required him to quit the NBA, despite his $2.3 million contract, we would have respected his decision.
Apparently Abdul-Rauh realized he was not being asked to worship the American flag, just to respect it. When he refused, he was being disrespectful - to his country, his fellow players and fans.
The NBA was well within its rights to reprimand a player who, for a while, was lounging and stretching on a chair during the national anthem. Basketball is a product they sell to customers who pay a hefty price for their seats to Denver Nuggets game. They have made it clear they did not want to pay money to watch Abdul-Rauf insult them, no matter how many points he scored each game. We are pleased Abdul-Rauf came to his senses before his act of disrepsect and defiance was imbued with a significance it didn't deserve. by CNB