Orlando (United States) (AFP)

Orlando winger Jonathan Isaac, the first player not to kneel during the American anthem when the NBA season resumes at Disney World, injured his left knee in the Magic's victory over Sacramento (132-116).

It was after a support to go up to the circle, at the start of the fourth quarter, that Isaac collapsed, immediately holding the knee. In tears, consoled by his teammates, he left the floor in a wheelchair.

"Until you know, you have to keep hope. But it doesn't look good at all," said coach Steve Clifford.

The concern is all the greater in the ranks of Orlando, as a rupture of the cruciate ligaments is feared, according to ESPN. Magnetic resonance imaging will give its verdict on Monday.

The blow is hard for Isaac, who made his return on the floors in this resumption of the championship, after eight months of absence due to a hyper-extension suffered in the same knee on January 1 in Washington. He missed 31 matches because of the injury.

But it was not really for this return to the game that he was talked about on Friday, but for remaining standing when the Star Spangled Banner sounded, while all the other players in the match against Brooklyn had kneeled ashore to protest racial injustice in the United States.

A choice that the 22-year-old African-American explained after the fact. "I absolutely support Black Lives Matter, I just felt that getting down on my knees or wearing a t-shirt with his image was not essential to support" this movement.

“Everyone is made in the image of God and we are all far from living up to the glory of God,” continued Isaac, a practicing Christian who sometimes preaches in a non-denominational church in Orlando.

"Each of us does things we shouldn't do and says things we shouldn't say, we don't like people we shouldn't hate ... When you look around you, racism doesn't t is not the only thing that torments our society, which torments our nation, which torments our world, ”he continued.

Before concluding: "I have the feeling that our answer to this is the Gospel".

© 2020 AFP