Fans at Scotiabank Arena loudly booed during the American national anthem before the Toronto Raptors hosted the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
They then switched to loud cheers when “O Canada” began.
Fans of the NBA’s lone Canadian franchise booed the anthem after similar reactions broke out Saturday night at NHL games in Ottawa and Calgary, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump made his threat of import tariffs on Canada a reality.
The US anthem gets booed at the Raptors game. Never seen this before. <a href=”https://t.co/HDipiMs9fW”>pic.twitter.com/HDipiMs9fW</a>
—@william_lou
The strong reactions to both national anthems was likely in response to a mounting trade war between Canada and the United States.
Raptors forward Chris Boucher, of Montreal, was asked after his team’s win over the Clippers whether he’d ever experienced something like that.
“No, no, no,” he said. “But have you ever seen us getting taxed like that?”
‘We’re feeling a little bitter’
Joseph Chua, a Toronto …