Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac made headlines last week when he was the first NBA player to stand during the national anthem, and he didn’t wear a Black Lives Matter shirt during the anthem as well. Now, he is getting exposure because of his decision
Two days after the Magic’s game on Friday, Isaac’s jersey sales surged on the NBA’s store. As of Sunday, Isaac’s jersey is the second-best seller on the league’s website behind only Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
MAGIC’S JONATHAN ISAAC, WHO STOOD FOR NATIONAL ANTHEM WHILE OTHERS KNELT, SUFFERS TORN ACL
Isaac was diagnosed with a torn ACL on Sunday night after going down with the injury in a game against the Sacramento Kings. He suffered the tear in his left knee — the same knee in which he suffered a devastating injury to in January. That one was supposed to be a season-ending injury, however, the coronavirus pandemic paused the NBA and it gave him more time to recover for the restarted season.
He had to be taken off the floor in a wheelchair in the fourth quarter.
Isaac explained his decision to reporters after the game on Friday as to why he decided to stand during the national anthem, according to Bleacher Report.
MAGIC’S JONATHAN ISAAC STANDS FOR NATIONAL ANTHEM AS TEAMMATES, OPPONENTS KNEEL
“I believe that Black Lives Matter,” he said. “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.
“Each and every one of us do things that we shouldn’t do and say things that we shouldn’t say. We hate and dislike things that we shouldn’t hate and dislike, and sometimes it gets to a point where we point fingers, whose evil is worse, and sometimes it comes down to whose evil is most visible. So I felt like I wanted to take a stand on, we all make mistakes, but I think that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that there’s grace for us, and that Jesus came and died for our sins and that if we all come to an understanding of that and that God wants to have a relationship with us, that we can get kept all of the things in our world that our messed up, jacked up.
“I think when you look around, racism isn’t the only thing that plagues our society, that plagues our nation, that plagues our world, and I think coming together on that message that we want to get past not only racism but everything that plagues as us as a society, I feel like the answer to that is Gospel.”
