Raptors exec: Anthem demonstration was based on MLK march

Wayne Embry has lived through a cross section of American history that fewer and fewer people have. The 79-year-old Basketball Hall of Famer and current Toronto Raptors advisor began his NBA career in the era of segregation, and he says that the Raps' recent national anthem demonstration came with his counsel.

"I gave them a little history about the early years in the NBA and what we went through," Embry told The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears.

"I took them through the civil rights movement and what we did. If you recall during the marches, we were united, locked arms, all different ethnic groups or religious groups, all genders marched. 'We shall overcome,' we used those words," he said, citing the Martin Luther King Jr. march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in 1965.

"Our players wanted to show a sign of solidarity and unity. So that was the result and what we did."

The Raptors linked arms for both the U.S. and Canadian anthems during the NBA preseason opener Saturday against the Golden State Warriors in Vancouver. On Monday night, the Milwaukee Bucks exhibited a similar display of unity.

Related: Kidd says Bucks' unity during anthem 'not a protest'

In a conversation that has been growing since Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers chose to protest racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem, Embry said peaceful demonstration comes in many forms.

"(Kaepernick) exercised his First Amendment rights," said Embry, who became the NBA's first black general manager in 1972. "I was asked by a reporter if I would stand for the anthem, and I said, 'Yes, I would.' I choose to honor our anthem and our Constitution for what it stands for."

While based in Toronto, the majority of the Raptors' roster is American. And while not as frequent or widely reported in the U.S., Canada has also dealt with its share of racially-charged police controversies.