Oklahoma lawmaker threatens Thunder with tax penalties if players kneel for national anthem, team...

[Michie]

...kneels anyway

From the article.
The Republican rep says NBA players, by kneeling, were supporting Marxism

An Oklahoma state lawmaker threatened the Oklahoma City Thunder with tax penalties if the players knelt during the national anthem prior to their game Saturday.

State Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy, said in a statement Friday that by kneeling the NBA was supporting Black Lives Matter and the goal of defunding the police and “its efforts to destroy nuclear families.”

“By kneeling during the playing of the national anthem, the NBA and its players are showing disrespect to the American flag and all it stands for. This anti-patriotic act makes clear the NBA’s support of the Black Lives Matter group and its goal of defunding our nation’s police, its ties to Marxism and its efforts to destroy nuclear families,” Roberts said, according to The Oklahoman.

Continued below.
Oklahoma lawmaker threatens Thunder with tax penalties if players kneel for national anthem, team kneels anyway

 

[Arcangl86]

I wonder if that would hold up to legal scrutiny, taking away the tax benefits because they have an issue with the political stance the team is making. Seems like a 1A violation, though it's tricky in that it's removal of a special benefit and not specifically a punishment.