Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
I’m sure we are all aware of the activism efforts that were on display during the national anthem by Colin Kaepernick. There is a similar story that occupies the somewhat quiet space between 1960s civil right acts and more recent displays of activism during the 2016-2020’s period.
In the 1995-1996 NBA season a player named Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf similarly refused to stand for the national anthem. Abdul-Rauf was a very talented basketball player from a young age and has mentioned that he many times have had people try to take advantage of this blessing. Going into his college years he attended and played for LSU basketball. As a freshman he set the NCAA scoring record as a freshman at LSU averaging 30.2 points a game. After his sophomore year at LSU he decided to declare for the 1990 draft. Abdul-Rauf was selected third overall in the draft by the Denver Nuggets. In 1991 Abdul-Rauf decided to revert to Islam faith. With his decision to revert he had changed his name from Chris Jackson to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.
This decision is an aspect of his social protest that offered further motivation and reason. During games with the Dnever nuggets Abdul-Rauf refused to stand for the National Anthem. He believed that the American flag and ideologies did not coincide with his societal and Islamic views. He mentioned that the flag was a symbol of tyranny and oppression.
After his refusal to stand during the anthem the NBA decided to suspend him for one game. After this decision he agreed to stand for the anthem but will in the meantime bow his head and lift his hands in prayer during the anthem. As it typically goes Abdul-Rauf received a slew of criticism which ultimately led to his release form the Denver Nuggets. Not only did he make this stand against civil rights including race he made this stand in protest against health care inequality. He found it hard to believe that such a great and wealthy country could leave many of their people without healthcare.
In the more recent years he had been a person of understanding for Colin Kaepernick as they both expressed a feeling of true freedom while engaging in these protests.