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OAKLAND — The military personnel lined up in front of the flag. The Warriors and Sixers stood on opposite ends of the court. The sell-out crowd at Oracle Arena stood on their feet.

But when the national anthem played, Warriors guard Stephen Curry was not on the court. The reasons had nothing to do with protesting racial inequality on Veteran’s Day, though. The reasons were more practical.

“Full transparency, nature called pregame,” Curry said following the Warriors’ 135-114 victory over the Sixers on Saturday at Oracle Arena. “There you go for that one.”

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Warriors’ Steve Kerr says NBA needs more Black head coaches It seemed like the perfect metaphor. Curry has often expressed hope that the general public would focus more on what NFL athletes have protested about (racial inequality) than how they are protesting (kneeling during the national anthem). So on Veteran’s Day, Curry penned an article for The Players’ Tribune that highlighted his hope that people from varying racial and political backgrounds do more to help U.S. veterans.

“Just try to cut through all that noise and make sure from my voice and platform, the conversation is around how we can help people and how we can change our society for the better with all the issues we need to change,” Curry said. “And not so much who said what, and who did what and who tweeted what. Today was a no better day to do that with how many people have sacrificed for our country and our freedom.” For complete Warriors coverage

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Curry has supported ThanksUSA, which provides collegiate scholarships to military families. He also shared how he talked with veterans that are “dealing with health care, job opportunities and support from the government and from local communities.” Curry sounded open-minded on other ideas too.

“There are countless ways we all can contribute and take action,” Curry said. “There’s no set formula for how each of us can do that.”

Curry may have drawn criticism from President Donald Trump. He formally withdrew a White House invitation to celebrate the Warriors’ 2017 NBA championship after Curry made it clear he had no interest in accepting a visit because of Trumps’ divisive rhetoric. The Warriors, however, see Curry as the perfect ambassador to speak about social issues.

“I can’t even explain how great of a person he is and how caring he is for other people,” Warriors forward Kevin Durant said. “He shows that every single day, no matter if you’re in here or not. He’s the same persona and wants that for everybody. That’s a kid-like trait that he has. He brings that same type of joy to the game of basketball. It’s contagious. I’m sure everybody appreciated what he said. The perfect leader for our team and our organization. It’s a joy to get to work with him every day.”

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