http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/stein_marc/1527038.html Thursday, March 20 Nash not backpedaling from anti-war stance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Marc Stein ESPN.com DALLAS -- Steve Nash, the Mavericks' All-Star guard and perhaps the NBA's most outspoken anti-war lobbyist, said Thursday that he has no plans to modify his stance. Nash reiterated his position after drawing criticism from a Texas statesman not known for critiquing his peers: Spurs center David Robinson. From the start, I spoke out just because I don't want to see the loss of life," Nash said. "People are mistaking anti-war as being unpatriotic. This has nothing to do with the fact that I'm from Canada. This is a much bigger issue. But now that we're in battle, I hope for as many lives to be spared as possible, (and) as little violence as possible before a resolution." After Thursday's loss to the Spurs, Nash added: "I never said, 'Go out and believe what I believe.' (The message) was, 'Go out and decide for yourself.' But I am 100 percent behind the soldiers protecting our freedom. Who wouldn't be?" Nash emerged as a prominent anti-war spokesman during All-Star Weekend in Atlanta, where he wore a T-shirt reading: "No War. Shoot for Peace." The shirt was designed by a former high school classmate in British Columbia, and Nash insists that the reaction has been "unbelievably positive compared to negative." "People come up to me all the time and say, 'Thank you,' " Nash said, adding that his original intent was merely to spark debate, which the shirt and the stance have certainly accomplished. Of course, the anti-war platform also drew a strong rebuke Thursday from Robinson, the former Naval officer. Nash was lumped into the discussion by a reporter asking Robinson to react to statements from Mavericks guard Nick Van Exel, who said on his weekly radio show in Dallas that there's a sentiment among some players in the Mavs' locker room that President Bush's war initiative gives Americans "a bad name." "I get a little bit upset," Robinson said. "The time for debate is really beforehand. Obviously history will speak on whether this was the right thing or the wrong thing, but right now (the soldiers) are out there. Support 'em. There's plenty of time for commentary later." "If it's an embarrassment to them," Robinson added, "maybe they should be in a different country, because this is America and we're supposed to proud of the guys we elected and put in office." It must be said, however, that neither Nash nor Van Exel has publicly used the word "embarrassment." That was the word presented to Robinson by the reporter asking the question. Van Exel tried to clarify his position before Thursday's game by saying: "I don't want it to be like, 'He hates Bush.' I'm definitely not like that. I have my opinions but in no way are they negative toward George Bush or my country." In his radio interview Wednesday, before the Bush comment, Van Exel did say: "Nobody is dissing America. We all love America. Even the Germans and the Canadians and the Frenchmen." Playing in the president's home state, and some coming from countries whose governments have voiced opposition to the U.S. war effort, Mavericks players who speak out against it place themselves at greater risk for criticism. Dallas owner Mark Cuban, meanwhile, sported his own T-shirt Thursday, in red instead of Mavericks blue and bearing the flag-themed message: "United We Stand." "I'm not embarrassed by America," Nash said. "I'm embarrassed by humanity. More than embarrassed, I think it's really unfortunate in the year 2003 that we're still using violence as a means of conflict resolution. That's what I'm speaking out against." Said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, an Air Force Academy alumnus: "My reaction to that is that it's further proof how great our country is, because you can't have opinions of any sort in some places. No matter how unpopular someone's opinion might be, he or she is allowed to have it in this country, and that's what makes it great." Damn media conspiracy. Come on, that reporter knew exactly what he was doing by adding the word "embarrassment." Anyways, prepare to flame away.
On TK's radio show earlier this week, Rachel Nichols stated that she overheard Tyronne Lue tell a group of reporters (who were talking about the war) that "hey, we're in a war too. we're battling for the 8th playoff spot. it's the same thing." (not a direct quote b/c I don't remember it verbatim, but awfully close)
surely if French fries are out, then Nash should be banned from the NBA and given the Terrence and Philip treatment
I don't understand what the issue is with Nash or Van Exel's views. Just because the War started doesn't mean people should lose their right to free speech. I also don't see being anti-war and pro-soldier as mutually exclusive.
Anyone here that the National Anthem was completely drowned out by boos at the Montreal Canadiens' hockey game last night? As for Nash, I don't really care. But as a joke, I'd love to see some more photoshop fun.
Friday, March 21 Fans voice their displeasure before game -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ESPN.com news services MONTREAL -- Fans booed during the playing of the U.S. national anthem before the New York Islanders' 6-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. The sellout crowd of 21,273 at Bell Centre was asked to "show your support and respect for two great nations'' before the singing of the American and Canadian national anthems. But a significant portion of the crowd booed throughout "The Star-Spangled Banner'' in an apparent display of their displeasure with the U.S.-led war against Iraq. More than 200,000 people turned out for an anti-war demonstration in Montreal last Saturday. Mark Parrish, a native of Bloomington, Minn., was upset hearing the boos. "I came to the game pretty pumped up, but once I heard that it really got me going,'' Parrish said. "So I guess I can thank them a little bit for getting me more pumped up.'' Another anti-war protest took place earlier in the day along St. Catherine's Street as protestors chanted "No Blood for Oil" in both French and English. The Canadian government is opposed to the war in Iraq. "I'm sure there are a lot of people against the war, but some things people can't control,'' said New York's Alexei Yashin, who is from Russia. "They were probably showing what they feel about it.'' Defenseman Mike Komisarek, who is from Islip Terrace, N.Y. and is the only American-born player on the Montreal roster, was asked about his feelings on the war. "I'd rather not comment on that," he told Newsday. "Just my prayers are with the troops in the Middle East and hope they come home soon and safe to their families." The Associated Press contributed to this report.
"If it's an embarrassment to them," Robinson added, "maybe they should be in a different country, because this is America and we're supposed to proud of the guys we elected and put in office." -This is still stupid BTW I'm not buying anymore Steve Nash albums because he prefers peace. ------------------- "9 out of 5 'Mericans support Operation Revenge For Daddy"
Well, I won't excuse it, but I'll try to put it in context. This is something they do in Quebec. When separatist sentiments were running high, they used to boo the Canadian anthem regularly. About 10 years ago when I was in Ottawa I decided to go to an Expos game in Montreal, two hours away. It was a somewhat politically sensitive time (I'll spare you the details) and on my way there I passed a Canadian flag flying upside-down at half mast. In Montreal there were dozens of Quebec flags flying and no Canadian ones. At the game 27,000 people drowned out the anthem with a chorus of loud boos. All of this is what it is, but we found that they are generally not as angry as they appear. When the people around us figured out that we were not Quebecers, they stopped booing. Afterwards they wanted to engage in friendly light conversation with us, apparently having completely forgotten or disregarded the anthem booing incident. They were, in fact, very mild, friendly, polite people, very Canadian . I lived in Ottawa for a couple of years after than and came to understand that most of them are like this, but not all. 1 in 30, say, is an angry a#% hole, but the vast majority are very friendly and polite and just boo as a form of expression, or because it's what's done, or ?. You have to realise that they are very isolated people. Outside of Montreal many don't speak English very well at all, so all they know is what their media tell them, and their media tends to be inflammatory and significantly less than balanced and objective. The Quebecois have an odd love hate relationship with the French from France too, and I suspect that their media has had a field day with the anti-French sentiments being expressed in the US. What happened in Montreal was largely a response to that, I suspect. Now maybe you can explain this to me.
