October 28, 2016
Sevyn Streeter/Atlantic Records via AP
This photo provided by Atlantic Records shows Sevyn Streeter at an arena for an NBA basketball game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder in Philadelphia on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016. Philadelphia 76ers national anthem singer Streeter said she was told by the team she could not perform because of her "We Matter" jersey.
The Sixers found themselves in the national news cycle quite a bit over the past 48 hours, much of it for a reason other than Joel Embiid's highly anticipated debut..
The team has dealt with a lot of backlash after their decision to not let recording artist Sevyn Streeter sing the national anthem before Wednesday night's opener against Oklahoma City, and as an organization, they decided to change course on Friday afternoon. In particular, the team's players expressed concern with the decision after Streeter was relieved of anthem duty for planning to wear a jersey with the words "We Matter."
On Friday, the team announced that they offered an apology to Streeter in addition to an opportunity to sing at another Sixers home game. Here is the official statement:
“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. 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.”
According to head coach Brett Brown, the process behind the decision was explained to his players, who then convened for a meeting.
"I sat with my players and I said, 'This is what's happened, you've heard it, what do you think? In your perfect world, what would you wish could happen?'" Brown said. "Clearly, there was some anxiety with that decision. Then the ownership group met, the business people met, and as a complete organization, voices were heard, the decisions were all weighed up, and the final decision [was] to admit if we had to do it again, we would not do that. And we're excited to invite her back."
Jemila Worley, a member of the Sixers dance team, was called in to pinch-hit for Streeter on anthem duty and she did a excellent job on short notice. Shooting guard Gerald Henderson was one of the players who didn't believe the initial decision was the right one.
"Collectively, we thought that was the best decision," Henderson said of the apology to Streeter. "We felt like she should've been able to sing and for whatever reasons, it didn't happen. I think it's a good idea to reach out to her and hopefully she can come back and sing her song."
"It's an unfortunate situation, but I am happy that we are lending an invitation to bring her back and sing the anthem," second-year center Jahlil Okafor added.
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