Coach John Calipari, Kentucky Basketball Team Kneel for National Anthem for First Time


Kentucky's men's basketball team, as well as coach John Calipari, took a knee during the national anthem on Saturday before their matchup against Florida.

The entire Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, as well as coach John Calipari, took a knee during the national anthem on Saturday before their matchup against Florida.

In previous home games this season, the Wildcats had stayed in the locker room while the anthem played in Rupp Arena, according to The Athletic's Kyle Tucker.

Calipari had previously said Kentucky would decide how to carry out any protests as a team, and that either all would participate or nobody would. The Wildcats stuck to that line of thought in their first public protest.

The protest comes on the heels of the attack of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday by a mob of President Trump supporters who were contesting the legitimacy of president-elect's Joe Biden's win in the presidential election.  

Along with the entire Wildcats roster and staff, Gators guard Scottie Lewis also took a knee during the national anthem. Lewis, a sophomore, has been actively protesting racial inequality and is a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Lewis previously led a peaceful protest in June after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.