TORONTO – RJ Barrett got right to it as soon as he stepped in front of the cameras and microphones of a post-practice media scrum on the Toronto Raptors’ training facility.
“Let’s get it out of the way in which. Ask it. Just ask it,” said an upbeat Barrett. “Let’s get it out of the way in which. Just ask it already. Come on. Let’s get it out of the way in which.”
Did you hear the boos in the course of the American national anthem before the Raptors beat the Los Angeles Clippers 115-108 on Sunday?
“I even have ears, so I heard it, of course,” said Barrett, who’s from Mississauga, Ont. “But I mean, I don’t know. I feel like everybody’s entitled to their very own opinion.
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“I don’t really know an excessive amount of of what it was about. I used to be just there to play the sport.”
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Fans at Scotiabank Arena booed during “The Star Spangled Banner,” then switched to loud cheers when “O Canada” began, joining the 15-year-old anthem singer for some verses of that anthem.
There have been similar scenes at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday night when fans also booed in the course of the American national anthem before the Senators shut out the Minnesota Wild 6-0 on Saturday. Then on Sunday night fans in Vancouver jeered the U.S. anthem before the Canucks lost to the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in additional time.
The strong reactions are likely in response to a trade war between Canada and its neighbour to the south, sparked by executive orders from U.S. President Donald Trump, raising tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports to the US.
“I don’t follow the politics too closely,” said Raptors centre Jakob Poeltl, who’s from Austria. “I suppose it’s just the Canadian people, or people in Toronto, expressing their dislike of certain policies which were passed currently.
“I suppose they thought that was their probability to have a platform and show that they’re not comfortable about it.”
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said he had no comment on the booing.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
