It’s not something expected at a Celtics game, or an NBA game in general.
Still, it’s likely that we’ve all seen the flag before, a bright yellow backdrop featuring a coiled rattlesnake above the words, “Don’t Tread on Me.” The origins of the flag, called the Gadsden Flag, are apocryphal but, according to historian Paul Bruski of Iowa State, it “seems to begin with a simple illustration accompanying an essay by Benjamin Franklin in 1754, 20 years before American independence.”
In more recent years, the flag morphed into a Tea Party symbol and, Bruski wrote, “Because it is commonly flown alongside ‘Trump 2020’ flags, the Confederate battle flag and other white-supremacist flags, some may now see the Gadsden flag as a symbol of intolerance and hate – or even racism.”
That view of the flag may not be entirely fair but that context made it especially odd to see Celtics star Kemba Walker show up to Tuesday night’s showdown against the Wizards in the NBA’s play-in tournament in a bright yellow jacket, the back of which was a full-body version of the Gadsden flag.
The Celtics’ team Twitter account showed off Walker’s odd sartorial choice, only to delete the tweet once the connotations of the flag made the rounds on social media.
Streets is saying Capitol Kemba and Hayward were in the same place on January 6th pic.twitter.com/w0r1nM7vy6
— Content Nets Fan (@levertsburner) May 19, 2021
Kemba Walker Knocked on Social Media
The Walker jacket, of course, drew considerable online reaction among fans and media.
ESPN’s Bomani Jones tweeted his immediate shock at Walker’s choice. Former college star and NBA player Rex Chapman followed up by suggesting Walker does not know the recent history of Gadsden flag.
i'm sorry what https://t.co/WByIx8fkEo
— bomani (@bomani_jones) May 19, 2021
One user compared Walker’s coat to the “Blue Lives Matter” face mask worn by James Harden when he arrived at the NBA’s bubble environment in Orlando for last year’s league restart.
Kemba Walker 🤝 James Harden
"I have no idea what this means" pic.twitter.com/cO9G72ioe5
— rxbun (@rxbun) May 19, 2021
No comments:
Post a Comment