Last fall, Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac stood tall, and not just because he’s 6-foot-10.
As The Free Press reported last September, Isaac rejected the idea of a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine because he said he already had the virus and felt he was at low risk because of his age – then 23 – and physical fitness.
He also clapped back at those who berated him for that personal decision. “Loving your neighbor is not just loving those that agree with you,” he said.
Now, Isaac, a former star at Florida State, is set to release a new book, “Why I Stand,” published by the book wing of the conservative Daily Wire news website.
In the book, among other topics, Isaac discusses why he stood out by standing up for the National Anthem during the kneeling rage in sports after the death of George Floyd in 2020. He also declined to join his teammates and other NBA players in wearing Black Lives Matter garb.
And he attributes that to his deeper and growing faith in Jesus Christ.
On Twitter Monday night, Isaac noted that his book is the No. 1 bestseller among Christian books and basketball biographies and No. 2 in political books on Amazon. (Late Monday, it was No. 5 in political books.)
“Y’all I’m not even hype for the numbers. I’m hype cause I know my book offers hope for the future! And to know that many people will have it in their hands … There is no message greater for these times than the gospel! May we live it and share it in love!”
In a clip that circulated on social media, Isaac told a crowd at the Reawaken American tour in South Carolina over the weekend, “Around the time that George Floyd had tragically died … I tried my best to see it in the right way. I didn’t view it as an African-American. I didn’t view it as a conservative. I didn’t view it as a liberal. I tried my best to combat the message in a Christian perspective.”
“I tried to see it the way Christ would see it. And what I didn’t want to do in that moment was join into a fight by kneeling for the National Anthem. Obviously, the fight between black and white, the fight between right and left, and everything that was going on. I wanted to view it in the way that Christ would.”
Isaac added, “And around that time, my pastor had preached a message. The message was about when Jesus was about to be taken by the Roman Guard, and Peter lunged forward and chopped off the man’s ear, and Jesus stopped him, and he said, ‘Those that live by the sword, will die by the sword.’ And, ultimately that Jesus had a greater plan.”
“So, I decided to stand. It wasn’t entirely about the flag. It was just that moment of saying, ‘I believe that the love of Jesus Christ is what’s ultimately going to heal this world because it’s what has healed me.’”
Isaac continued that theme in an interview clip released before the book came out on Tuesday.
“The feeling of most people was that because other people did it, they almost had to. Or they would be seen as going against the movement. But I rejected that notion. I felt that to kneel and wear a Black Lives Matter T-shirt don’t go hand in hand with the support of black lives.”
To learn more about “Why I Stand” click here to be redirected to Amazon.
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