When you’re arguably the next face of the NBA, you can expect all your actions and statements to be scrutinized. That’s the lesson 7-foot-4 French superstar Victor Wembanyama learned during this year’s playoffs, which ended Saturday with Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs losing to the New York Knicks in the Finals in five games.
It was after that final loss that Wembanyama walked off the court without stopping to shake hands with any New York Knicks players. By comparison, the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, who won Finals MVP, shook hands with Spurs coach Mitch Johnson before celebrating with his teammates. (Just from that act itself, you can probably guess which of the two superstars decided to sacrifice over $100 million individually to help build a championship team.)
Analysts were debating whether Wembanyama’s action was disgraceful on the sports talk shows Monday morning. ESPN’s Jay Williams thinks absolutely not, saying, “I think it’s one of the worst rules of professional sports that I have to show sportsmanship and shake your hand after you’ve beaten me. Maybe I don’t like you. I don’t need to like you.”
Substitute “respect for the flag” for “sportsmanship” in Williams' argument, and you get what so much of the left-leaning sports media world feels when professional athletes don’t show respect for the national anthem before games, which is what Wemby appears to have also done during the Finals. Before Game 1 in San Antonio, Wembanyama stood with his arms crossed during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
He placed his hands in front of his face in what looked like a praying gesture before Game 2.
Wembanyama could have silenced his critics — who aren’t expecting the Frenchman to show American patriotism, only respect — by making less ambiguous gestures before subsequent games. Instead, he didn’t even make it onto the court in New York for the anthem before Games 3 and 4. Journalist Jason Whitlock, on his Fearless podcast, interpreted the no-show as blatant disrespect:
This is a Greg Popovich-run organization that's anti-American. And the biggest star on the San Antonio Spurs is Victor Wembanyama, and he skipped the national anthem. This isn't a coincidence that a Greg Popovich-run organization has an anti-American Frenchman who can't come out and respect the national anthem in a country that's paying him millions upon millions of dollars, a country that's making him the face of professional basketball.
Popovich, the legendary coach who retired in 2025, was one of Colin Kaepernick’s biggest defenders after the former NFL quarterback took a knee during the national anthem in 2016, calling it a “very patriotic thing.” Something else he probably considered patriotic was calling Donald Trump a "racist liar" as he did during an infamous 2016 press conference.
Wembanyama’s actions and comments make you wonder if Popovich is teaching the 22-year-old star about a lot more than basketball during their mentorship. Wembanyama’s comments on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents sound very much like something Popovich would say: “Every day I wake up and see the news, and I’m horrified. I think it’s crazy that some people might make it seem like, or make it sound like, the murder of civilians is acceptable.”
Spurs coach Johnson came to his superstar's defense when asked about his behavior during the national anthem: "I think there are plenty of players that are not on the floor during the anthem. I don’t know if that’s habit, superstition, bathroom, whatever it may be. I don’t foresee anything looking into that at all."
So what do you think — is this much ado about nothing, or did Wembanyama cross a line and show disrespect to the country where he chose to play basketball? Share in the comments.
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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