Warriors Pride Night: Anthem Singer Waves Rainbow Flag Mid-Song as Video of Players Laughing Passes 4 Million Views in 13 Hours
Chase Center in San Francisco, California, hosted the Golden State Warriors against the Miami Heat on the night of November 5, which was also the Warriors' Pride Night. Singer Jason Brock, performing the U.S. national anthem before the game, reached the line "What so proudly we hailed," pulled a rainbow Pride flag from his jacket and waved it like a banner, continuing until the end of the song. The Warriors won 120-100, and Heat guard Klay Thompson's return to Chase Center had itself been one of the night's storylines.
The broadcast then panned to several Warriors players, including guard De'Anthony Melton and forward Charles Bassey, who were smiling and appeared to be laughing, or trying to hold in laughter. According to the New York Post, video of the moment went viral on X, with one post passing four million views in about 13 hours. Multiple reports stressed that why the players were laughing is unclear, and cannot be determined to have been because of the flag, Brock's rendition, or his expressions.
Online reaction split. Some users said waving another flag during the anthem disrespected the anthem and the U.S. flag; others defended Brock or joked about the moment. Comedian Danny Polischuk joked on X that Republicans had lost the midterm elections so badly that "there's a gay national anthem now."
Brock responded on November 6. He first reposted on Instagram Stories a graphic titled "Warriors couldn't keep a straight face during the national anthem" and wrote, "Really?", adding the same phrase in Japanese. He then replied to the viral post on X: "Wow I didn't interpret it like this, but I wasn't watching the players. Just because they were laughing doesn't mean it was because of the anthem." The Post reported that Brock made several other posts highlighting the performance, suggesting he had no regrets about it. As of publication, neither the Warriors nor the players shown had publicly explained the laughter.
Brock is a San Francisco-based singer who reached the live shows on the U.S. edition of The X Factor. In an interview earlier this year, he said he had previously sung the national anthem for local teams including the San Francisco Giants.
Source: Jason Brock's social media posts
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 大通中心资料图（dtstuff9摄，CC BY 2.0，经Wikimedia Commons），非本次事件现场图
