NBA Announces All Teams Will Be Playing the National Anthem

The big controversy in the NBA last night was that the Dallas Mavericks were no longer playing that National Anthem. Looks like the NBA is going to make them start doing it again.

With no fans in attendance to start the season in Dallas, we really didn't notice that the Mavericks were no longer playing the National Anthem before the games. It's not broadcasted on television, so how would we know? Looks like some reporters noticed it was missing last night and questioned owner Mark Cuban about it.

He said the anthem has not been played for Mavericks home games during the preseason or regular season. He declined any further comment on the anthem after confirming it was no longer being played. In less than a day, the NBA has now stated that all teams will be playing the National Anthem before games.

"With NBA teams now in the process of welcoming fans back into their arenas, all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy," the league said in a statement.

As of this posting, Mark Cuban nor the Mavericks have released a statement saying they will be following the NBA's policy. Guess we will find out what happens tonight. The Mavericks are at home against the Atlanta Hawks. I'm sure a lot of people will be tuning in tonight to see if the Mavericks follow the policy.

I know some people have been unable to watch Mavericks games recently due to contract disputes with television companies. Tonight's game is nationally televised on ESPN, tipoff is set for 6:30.