--- ---  # Singer Sevyn Streeter Says 76ers Stopped Her From Performing National Anthem Over ‘We Matter’ Shirt  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 15, 2023 1:27 AM UTCPublished: Oct 27, 2016 1:25 PM UTC  This photo provided by Atlantic Records shows Sevyn Streeter at an arena for an NBA basketball game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder in Philadelphia on Oct. 26, 2016. This photo provided by Atlantic Records shows Sevyn Streeter at an arena for an NBA basketball game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder in Philadelphia on Oct. 26, 2016.Sevyn Streeter—AP  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 15, 2023 1:27 AM UTCPublished: Oct 27, 2016 1:25 PM UTC Singer Sevyn Streeter said she was stopped from performing the national anthem at Wednesday’s Philadelphia 76ers game because she was wearing a jersey that said, “We Matter.” Streeter, who had been scheduled to sing the national anthem before the NBA team’s season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder, [posted a video](https://twitter.com/sevyn/status/791432200608702464) Wednesday night explaining what happened. “I’d say two minutes before we were about to walk out … the organization told me that I could not wear my shirt while singing the national anthem at their game,” she [told the Associated Press](https://apnews.com/8e0e36630393421ca5811ff5adbb46ba/76ers-anthem-singer-says-'We-Matter'-shirt-got-her-the-boot) in an interview. “I was never given any kind of dress code. I was never asked beforehand to show my wardrobe.” A member of the Sixers dance team sang the national anthem instead. > [](https://twitter.com/sevyn/status/791432200608702464) “The Philadelphia 76ers organization encourages meaningful actions to drive social change,” the team said in a statement on Thursday. “We use our games to bring people together, to build trust and to strengthen our communities. As we move from symbolic gestures to action, we will continue to leverage our platform to positively impact our community.” The team declined to comment on why Streeter’s performance was canceled and whether she had been asked to change beforehand. Athletes and performers at sporting events across the country have taken to kneeling during the national anthem in recent months, a movement started by [San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick](http://time.com/4504023/athletes-america-patriotism/) to protest racial discrimination and police violence. At a 76ers-Miami Heat preseason game last week, the woman singing the national anthem stepped onto the court and revealed a Black Lives Matter shirt, before [kneeling during her performance](http://www.espn.com/nba/story/%5F/id/17854170/national-anthem-singer-denasia-lawrence-kneels-miami-heat-philadelphia-76ers-game-performance). “I also felt it was important to express the ongoing challenges and ongoing injustice we face as a black community within the United States of America—that’s very important to me,” Streeter told the AP on Wednesday, saying the 76ers’ decision “broke my heart.” “Yes, we live in the greatest country in the world but there are issues that we cannot ignore. This can’t be ignored.” Sevyn Streeter: 76ers Canceled National Anthem Performance ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4547448/sevyn-streeter-76ers-national-anthem-we-matter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4547448/sevyn-streeter-76ers-national-anthem-we-matter/"},"headline":"Singer Sevyn Streeter Says 76ers Stopped Her From Performing National Anthem Over ‘We Matter’ Shirt","datePublished":"2016-10-27T13:25:34.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-15T01:27:34.000Z","description":"\"It broke my heart\"","url":"https://time.com/4547448/sevyn-streeter-76ers-national-anthem-we-matter/","keywords":["Basketball","Race","justice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc44f5890cbab6aa/6988abbea988cac5266b9e9b/sevyn-streeter-national-anthem.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc44f5890cbab6aa/6988abbea988cac5266b9e9b/sevyn-streeter-national-anthem.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"76ers Anthem Singer Basketball","caption":"76ers Anthem Singer Basketball","creditText":"Sevyn Streeter—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/basketball/","name":"Basketball"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4547448/sevyn-streeter-76ers-national-anthem-we-matter/","name":"Singer Sevyn Streeter Says 76ers Stopped Her From Performing National Anthem Over ‘We Matter’ Shirt"}}]}] ```