GOP lawmaker vows to pen legislation to cancel Thunder’s tax breaks

Despite the negative attention and threats from Rep. Sean Roberts, the Thunder franchise continued to kneel during the anthem on Monday.

Like the majority of their NBA brethren, the Oklahoma City Thunder opted to kneel during the national anthem prior to their first seeding game in Orlando on Saturday. The act got widespread attention.

Aside from the obvious reason why, Oklahoma lawmaker Rep. Sean Roberts issued a warning to the club prior to the contest threatening to take adverse action against the franchise if its players followed the example of their fellow stars.

Both the Thunder’s players and team personnel kneeled anyway, and in the aftermath of the act, the Mayor of Kansas City shot his shot and let thee franchise know that it would be welcomed to Kansas City with open arms.

Although there’s not much reason to believe that the Thunder would actually leave Oklahoma City at this point, Mr. Roberts has doubled-down on his threats against the team.

Writing for Forbes.com, veteran scribe Tommy Beer covered the story for the publication and later tweeted a screenshot of a response that he received from Mr. Roberts after asking the lawmaker for additional comment on his threat.

Mr. Roberts obliged. His response, in part, stated the following:

“After the Thunder players and organization chose to not respect our flag, and violate the US Flag Code, in support of a Marxist, anti-American organization over the weekend, I intend to introduce legislation to cancel the Thunder’s tax incentives as soon as possible…”

Mr. Roberts also went on to describe Black Lives Matter as “an organization founded by Marxists that advocates for the breakup of the nuclear family and defending the police.”

Not exactly flattering.

As the Thunder competes in Orlando, it’s unlikely that the threats will have any impact on the protests in which the players choose to engage.

Prior to the contests beginning in Orlando, the league negotiated the parameters of the league-sanctioned protests, and it’s safe to say that the NBA will continue to stand by its players. Like for the Thunder organization.

Still, although the tax incentives that the Thunder have enjoyed are in effect until 2024, Mr. Roberts, obviously, will seek to change that.