Singer Gets Apology From Sixers For National Anthem Booting Incident

The Philadelphia 76ers apologized to a recording artist on Friday for a rushed decision to deny her from singing the US national anthem at their season opener this week. The team barred the singer from singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the last-minute because she was in a “We Matter” jersey.

Sevyn Streeter said the team told her that she could not take the court because of her shirt. She was informed only moments before she was slated to sing the national anthem. A 76ers’ dance team member went on to sing the anthem.

“We are sorry that this happened. After receiving feedback from our players, basketball operations staff and ownership group, we believe that the wrong decision was made, and Sevyn should have been welcomed to sing,” the Sixers said in a statement.

“We apologize to her, and in an effort to move the conversation forward, we have reached out to offer her an opportunity to return and perform at a game of her choice. We are waiting to hear back.”

The Sixers originally refused to say why Streeter did not perform on Wednesday. They only said that the team supports consequential actions to drive social change.

The team said in a separate statement that they use their games to bring people together, to strengthen communities and to build trust. Further, they will continue to leverage their platform to positively affect the community. They also said they will move from symbolic gestures to action.

Preceding this incident, a woman sang the national anthem while kneeling at center court. She wore a “Black Lives Matter” shirt beneath an opened shirt. This happened last week at the opening of a preseason game between the Sixers and host Miami Heat.

Protests during the national anthem have been a burning matter in recent months. This type of protest started when National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided to not stand for its playing.

Kaepernick has mentioned police brutality and racial injustice among the motives for his protest. Several athletes from varying sports have since followed his lead in different ways, including linking arms during the anthem.

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Venezuela Protesters Call For Overthrow of President Maduro

CARACAS, Venezuela – Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in the streets of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas on Wednesday, shouting, “Democracy yes! Dictatorship no!” Citizens of Venezuela want to overthrow the incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, accusing the president of neglecting his job. The outcry fired up when the president’s allies stopped a recall referendum to remove the president from power.

Opposition leaders called the nationwide demonstration as “the takeover of Venezuela.” According to the Foro Penal human rights group, police detained at least 140 people and one police officer was shot and killed. Two other people were injured in central Miranda state for unknown reasons.

One of the opposition leaders, Henrique Capriles said, “Maduro has shown how scared he is that the people will express themselves”.

Last week, the electoral authorities impeded a retraction vote against Maduro. The move sparked the uproar of the Venezuelans. The conflict intensified on Tuesday when the opposition voted to put the president on trial blaming him for staging a coup.

“Neglecting his job”

Opposition leaders claimed that the president had effectively abandoned his job because of neglect. Venezuelans blame Maduro’s administration for the “country’s triple-digit inflation”, degrading economy, food, and medicine shortages.

While a violent nationwide protest raged on, a smaller group of government supporters held a rally downtown of the city, which President Maduro attended.

Correspondingly, opposition leaders ended “Wednesday’s national day of protest” to prepare for a bigger demonstration on Friday. According to activists, they will launch another protest on the presidential palace on November 3 if they continue to prevent the referendum to retract the president.

However, a ban exists on holding demonstrations in front of the presidential palace since 2002. It was the year a massive uprising occurred against the former President Hugo Chavez.

Nationwide demonstration

Police deployed tear gas in the provincial capitals which caused injuries to many. The left-wing activists broke into the protected regional electoral office in the border state of Tachira. They also spray painted anti-government slogans in the main entrance.

A viral video posted on social media shows a young man shouting in the face of a soldier wearing riot gear. In the video, he can be heard screaming, “I’m going hungry! If you’re going to shoot me because I’m hungry, shoot me,”

On the other part of Caracas, students have shown their disapproval at the administration by casually sitting on the country’s main highway. Victoria Rodriguez aged 18 and a recent high school graduate is one of the many protesters. She said that she wants to cast her first vote against Maduro because she feels like “living in an emptying country”. Out of her 25 classmates, 15 have already left since July, just after graduation.

Rodriguez said, “People are tired of going to the streets and then going home. The opposition is letting the streets go cold. They are giving the government too much time to maneuver.” Her statement conveys her disappointment to the opposition leaders for the slow progress to veto the president.

Supreme Court ruling

On Thursday, the congress expects deliberation on Maduro’s responsibility issues which caused the deteriorating political and economic crisis. However, the result will not make much of a difference. Venezuela’s National Assembly cannot impeach the president, only the Supreme Court has that power. Sadly, the institution has never voted against the president.

Both the administration and the opposition agreed to a bilateral talk to resolve the crisis. On Sunday, the Vatican and other South American governments are set to mediate the dialogue in the Caribbean island of Margarita. Maduro said he will personally travel to Margarita to commence the meeting. In lieu of the talk, the president met privately with Pope Francis on Monday.

During the previous crises, the two parties tried dialogue but the opposition had a very limited hope of winning. The administration is in full control of all the government institutions including the military, which displayed no interest in siding with the opposition.

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