What a difference two days make. On Tuesday night Sebastien de la Cruz was singing the national anthem at the NBA Finals in San Antonio, unaware that Twitter was getting ugly with racist tweets knocking the talent of a little boy, a boy who handled the hate with grace and dignity. Tonight, de la Cruz returned to the NBA Finals to sing the national anthem again, and it was triumphant.
Hey, when the Twitter profile of President Obama tweets you out before the game, you know the nation’s got your back:
As expected, de la Cruz had a following tonight and unlike Tuesday night, people went online to support him, just like San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, who introduced him to the crowd, and just like San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Miam Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who both took the time to congratulate Sebastien after he finished singing.
Popovich even addressed the story earlier in the day when he said, “I would like to say that I would be shocked or surprised by the comments. But given the fact that there’s still a significant element of bigotry and racism in our nation, I’m not surprised. It still plagues us, obviously. And what I was surprised by was how proud these idiots are of their ignorance, by printing their names next to their comments.”
“He’s a class act,” Popovich added. “Way more mature than most his age. And as much as those comments by the idiots sadden you about your country, he makes you feel that the future could be very bright.”
It can very well be bright. You never know.
I LOVE IT!!! Sebastian De La Cruz brought back to sing the National Anthem for Game 4 of NBA finals. He brought down the house.
— Gina Silva (@GinaSilvafox11) June 14, 2013
At this point, I'm more impressed with the children singing the national anthem than the whole Heat team during these #NBAFinals. #bigtime
— Grant Reynolds (@iGRANTu1wish) June 14, 2013
The National Anthem was beautiful :') #game4 #NBAFinals
— B.K. Womack (@BK_Doin_BK) June 14, 2013
The kid that was singing the national anthem #allamericanssing #NBA #Finals
— Kayla (@omg_Kayla77) June 14, 2013
"@jmtorr: Who's that AMERICAN kid singing our national anthem at the NBA finals? Go Sebastien El Charro de Oro!"
— Selina Flores (@selinanf) June 14, 2013
Awesome another American Mexican singing the National Anthem at #spurs game vs #heat #nationalanthem #respect #nbafinals
— May Ganni (@SimplyMayG) June 14, 2013
Loved that @spurs had Sebastien do the anthem again. Classy move by Popovich & Spolestra showing their respect. #NBAFinals #classacts
— Erin W (@edub307) June 14, 2013
Classy indeed.
