You read that right, Sevyn was denied her performance, which they asked her to do, because of her “We Matter” jersey.
A song for a country deemed “land of the free,” how is it free when you criticize and publicly shame people for expressing their views. The views which make this country so great, Freedom Of Expression. Or does that not apply when expressing problems in this country. Sevyn, who has an amazing, wore the jersey in protest of what’s going on. She was performing in a predominantly African-American city, for a sport that is also predominately African-American.
Sevyn posted a video on social media which received a lot of buzz with the caption, “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.” They hate when we kneel, they hate when we riot, and now hate what we wear. How are we supposed to express ourselves?
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
The 76ers has since released their own statement.
“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.”