Raptors notice anthem booing but focus on playing

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 at the Toronto Raptors’ training facility.

“Let’s get it out of the way. Ask it. Just ask it,” said an upbeat Barrett. “Let’s get it out of the way. Just ask it already. Come on. Let’s get it out of the way.”

Did you hear the boos during the American national anthem before the Raptors beat the Los Angeles Clippers 115-108 on Sunday?

“I have ears, so I heard it, for sure,” said Barrett, who is from Mississauga, Ont. “But I mean, I don’t know. I feel like everybody’s entitled to their own opinion.

“I don’t really know too much of what it was about. I was just there to play the game.”

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 were similar scenes at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday night when fans also booed during 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 overtime.

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 United States.

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“I don’t follow the politics too closely,” said Raptors centre Jakob Poeltl, who is from Austria. “I guess it’s just the Canadian people, or people in Toronto, expressing their dislike of certain policies that have been passed lately.

“I guess they thought that was their chance to have a platform and show that they’re not happy 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.