The Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns came together to show their solidarity after violence erupted and a mob broke into the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C on Jan. 6,
The two NBA teams had a game on the same day of the horrific events and the players and their crews linked arms in a centre court circle for the national anthems ahead of the game that night. The teams also discussed the things that were unfolding prior to and after the game.
The Raptors and Suns shared the moving images of their united circle on their Instagram accounts. The Toronto squad used the simple caption "United" in their post.
The Suns used the word "Unity" in theirs.
American-born Raptors guards Kyle Lowry and Fred Vanvleet also sounded off on the violent events that took place during the counting of U.S. president-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College votes. A video of their comments was shared on the Raptors' Instagram following the game.
"We gotta stay together and continue to build as best we can," Fred said.
Head Coach Nick Nurse, who was born in Iowa, called this a "reflective time" and said the circle at centre court was a moment to do some thinking about the state of the United States. He called it "a nice show of solidarity."
Late on Jan. 6, members of Congress returned to the Capitol building and continued their debate. Joe Biden was officially certified the 46th President of the United States. Donald Trump later pledged an "orderly transition," but said he still disagreed with the outcome of the election.
