There was a NBA player who tried this in the ‘70’s. He was Muslim and refused to stand for the anthem. He said he couldn’t because of his religious beliefs and that the flg stood for oppression. He was suspended without pay. He gave up after one game and stood from then on.
“There was a NBA player who tried this in the ‘70’s.”
Actually it was the mid 90’s. Mahmoud Abdul Rauf (formerly LSU All-American Chris Jackson).
I think at the time they worked out a ‘compromise’, whereby he would stand but speak the Islamic prayer at the same time the anthem played.