Sevyn Streeter was supposed to be belting out the national anthem Wednesday night (Oct. 26) at the 76ers’ season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But her Philly performance (which she had been promoting just hours before the even) never happened.
According to the singer, she was pulled just minutes before hitting the stage because she was rocking a “We Matter” jersey. She took to Twitter to share her disappointment:
Was suppose to sing the anthem at @sixers & @okcthunder game but mins b4 @sixers said I couldn't because I was wearing a "We Matter" jersey pic.twitter.com/wjoJN3rq0r
— Sevyn (@sevyn) October 27, 2016
Streeter told the Associated Press, she wasn’t given a dress code. “I was never asked beforehand to show my wardrobe,” she explained. “I was angry, extremely, extremely angry and disappointed and honestly brought to tears by all of it. It broke my heart,” she said. “Honestly, I was very excited about being able to perform the national anthem. I was really looking forward to that.”
Instead, the organization had one of their dance team members sing the anthem and released the following statement after social media went ablaze
The Philadelphia 76ers organization encourages meaningful actions to drive social change. We use our games to bring people together, to build trust and to strengthen our communities. As we move from symbolic gestures to action, we will continue to leverage our platform to positively impact our community.
While the anthem has been a hot button topic of the past few months, including Colin Kaepernick’s ongoing silent kneeling protest, it seems a bit much to have pulled the singer without any clear guidelines or warning. I especially want to know why “We Matter” was considered offensive. Don’t we all matter?
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