SubscribeAn NBA team stopped playing the U.S. National Anthem before games and nobody even noticed.
The Dallas Mavericks have not played "The Star-Bangled Banner" at a single one of their 13 pre-season or regular-season games this season.
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The team did not publicize the removal of the Anthem, but they do not plan to play it moving forward at their home arena — The American Airlines Center.
According to The Athletic, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made the decision, but he has not given an explanation.
On Wednesday, the NBA pushed back with a statement that said all teams should play the National Anthem.
"With NBA teams now in the process of welcoming fans back into their arenas, all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy," said Mike Bass, NBA Chief Communications Officer.
In response, Cuban released a statement saying, "We respect and always have respected the passion people have for the anthem and our country. But we also loudly hear the voices of those who feel that the anthem does not represent them."*
The Mavericks will reportedly play the National Anthem at the American Airlines Center tonight when they host the Atlanta Hawks.
*This article has been updated.
Tony Romo Proved He’s The Best Sports Commentator Last Night With His Hilarious 'Rocky' Quotes
If you're familiar with the Dallas Cowboys, then you're familiar with Tony Romo, it's just that simple. The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback has taken up several hobbies since his days on the field, including sports commentating! After lots of practice, "Tony Romo" and "sports commentator" have become something you can often hear in the same sentence and he was hitting an ultimate high last night.
Fans had a lot of good things to say about Romo's commentating skills last night, especially with him throwing in the enthusiastic Rocky reference.
We'll get to that later.
It's not uncommon to see former NFL players on the other side of the sports world once their career on the field comes to an end, but it is worth celebrating when they end up being great at it.
When you're as big of a legend as Romo is, you certainly have the upper hand.
Twitter user CoachTeixeira tweeted "Tony romo with the greatest commentary of all time!"
They followed up their claim with a line that Romo used during his commentary of the Texan game. "'It’s like watching Rocky when he’s getting punched over and over, he’s not losing he’s getting mad!'”
If there's an easy way to win people's hearts when it comes to commentating, it's quoting one of the greatest movies ever made.
Certainly, other factors play a role, such as voice, tone, and overall knowledge of the sport that's being broadcast.
Sports fans are a tough crowd to please, so sometimes even that isn't enough!
Twitter user aubreyybadger tweeted "Me listening to any other commentator vs. me listening to Tony Romo," with a hilarious dog meme below it.
The dog is clearly upset in the first photo, and blissful in the second.
Now that Romo has gotten such a great reaction from fans, his current free agent status may be changing very soon.
Rumors have it that ESPN is preparing a massive offer for Romo to leave CBS as an analyst and become the lead analyst for ESPN's "Monday Night Football."
It'd be silly for him to turn it down, so it's just a matter of time before he's back in the big leagues!
Like @DavidWysong_ tweeted above, "Every game is 100 times better when Tony Romo is commentating it."
You've got that right!