Against the Grain: The NBA Player Who Refused to Kneel or Get the Shot | Jonathan Isaac

American Thought Leaders

The Epoch Times

Government, News, Politics

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 October 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

NBA player Jonathan Isaac is known not just for his talent on the court, but for his convictions and outspoken faith. He’s the author of the 2022 best-selling memoir “Why I Stand.”

As a youth, he struggled with anxiety—but a chance encounter in an elevator with the man who would later become his pastor changed the course of his life.

Faith helped him triumph over his battle with anxiety, but it also later put him at the center of a national debate. After George Floyd’s death, at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, most NBA players chose to kneel during the national anthem. But Isaac chose to stand. Later, his decision to decline the COVID-19 vaccines also drew intense media scrutiny.

In this episode, he shares his story, his convictions, his choices and why he made them, and what it means to believe in something bigger than yourself.

Now, through his UNITUS shoe line, Isaac shares Bible verses and a message of hope.

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I said, fellas, I'm not going to kneel and I'm not going to wear that t-shirt.
0:04.0	Jonathan Isaac is one of the NBA's most talked about players, not just for his defensive play on the court,
0:10.0	but for the moment he stood when everyone else kneeled during the national anthem.
0:15.0	Before games, I'd be extremely anxious, and that's happened all through high school,
0:20.0	the number one player in the state of
0:21.1	Florida and college, into the NBA.
0:24.0	He recalls some pivotal moments in his journey.
0:26.6	It's been my faith that has helped me, you know, for the most about finding my identity
0:31.9	in Christ and just being okay with who I am.
0:34.5	That conviction led him to launch his own shoe line, Unitas. Which was,
0:39.9	and is the first NBA signature sneaker with visible Bible verses on the outside. In this episode,
0:46.4	Jonathan shares how his faith has shaped his life and career. This is American Thought Leaders,
0:52.1	and I'm Yanya Kellick.
0:59.3	Jonathan Isaac, so good to have you on American Thought Leaders.
1:02.8	Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. Thanks a lot.
1:10.1	Let's go back a bit into the past. I've known about you for a while. I started reading about your background and kind of where you've come from.
1:13.6	And I realized that you had a similar, I almost affliction or issue that I did as a kid.
1:20.6	And that was anxiety is something you suffered from.
1:22.6	And you dealt with it with basketball.
1:25.6	Okay, but so tell me a little bit about those early years.
1:28.9	I grew up in Bronx, New York.
1:31.3	My dad, my mom, four brothers, and one sister.
	...

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