--- title: 76ers Apologize for Stopping National Anthem Singer description: The organization apologized to Sevyn Streeter for not allowing her to perform while wearing a jersey that said, "We Matter." canonical: https://time.com/4549487/76ers-apologize-sevyn-streeter-national-anthem/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-28T17:20:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T01:29:53.556Z article:section: Sports og:title: 76ers Apologize for Stopping Singer in 'We Matter' Shirt From Performing National Anthem og:description: Sevyn Streeter was wearing a "We Matter" jersey og:url: https://time.com/4549487/76ers-apologize-sevyn-streeter-national-anthem/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc44f5890cbab6aa/6988abbea988cac5266b9e9b/sevyn-streeter-national-anthem.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 76ers Anthem Singer Basketball og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 76ers Apologize for Stopping Singer in 'We Matter' Shirt From Performing National Anthem twitter:description: Sevyn Streeter was wearing a "We Matter" jersey twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc44f5890cbab6aa/6988abbea988cac5266b9e9b/sevyn-streeter-national-anthem.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 76ers Apologize for Stopping Singer in 'We Matter' Shirt From Performing National Anthem by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Oct 28, 2016 5:20 PM CUT  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 [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Oct 28, 2016 5:20 PM CUT The Philadelphia 76ers apologized Friday to singer Sevyn Streeter for [not allowing her to sing the national anthem](http://time.com/4547448/sevyn-streeter-76ers-national-anthem-we-matter/ "undefined") at Wednesday’s home opener after she wore a “We Matter” shirt. “We are sorry that this happened. After receiving feedback from our players, basketball operations staff and ownership group, we believe that the wrong decision was made, and Sevyn should have been welcomed to sing,” the organization said in a statement. Streeter, who was [scheduled to sing the national anthem](http://time.com/4547448/sevyn-streeter-76ers-national-anthem-we-matter/ "undefined") before the NBA team’s first game of the season against the Oklahoma City Thunder, was told she couldn’t wear her “We Matter” jersey while singing. She then posted a video online detailing what happened and voiced concerns about the decision. > [](https://twitter.com/sevyn/status/791432200608702464) Athletic arenas have become venues for protesting racial inequality as athletes have joined [San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick](http://time.com/4504023/athletes-america-patriotism/ "undefined") in kneeling during the national anthem. The 76ers said Friday that they have offered Streeter the chance to come back and perform at another game. “We apologize to her, and in an effort to move the conversation forward, we have reached out to offer her an opportunity to return and perform at a game of her choice,” the organization said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4549487/76ers-apologize-sevyn-streeter-national-anthem/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4549487/76ers-apologize-sevyn-streeter-national-anthem/"},"headline":"76ers Apologize for Stopping Singer in 'We Matter' Shirt From Performing National Anthem","datePublished":"2016-10-28T17:20:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:29:53.556Z","description":"Sevyn Streeter was wearing a \"We Matter\" jersey","url":"https://time.com/4549487/76ers-apologize-sevyn-streeter-national-anthem/","keywords":["Basketball","celebrities","Music","protest","NBA","National Anthem"],"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":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"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/4549487/76ers-apologize-sevyn-streeter-national-anthem/","name":"76ers Apologize for Stopping Singer in 'We Matter' Shirt From Performing National Anthem"}}]}] ```