Controversial NBA player Jonathan Isaac has officially launched his UNITUS apparel company, which is centered on “faith, family, freedom, and the pursuit of true greatness.”
Outside of his performance on the court, the 25-year-old Orlando Magic forward is well-known for his opposition to the Black Lives Matter organization and COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
In 2020, shortly following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, Isaac stood alone during the national anthem before a game as his teammates knelt while wearing t-shirts that read “Black Lives Matter.”
When asked about his decision not to kneel with his teammates, Isaac said, “Racism isn’t the only thing that plagues our society, that plagues our nation, that plagues our world. We want to to get past not only racism but everything that plagues us as a society. I feel like the answer to it is the gospel.”
Isaac later authored a book titled “Why I Stand,” in which he recounts “a series of divine connections and a willingness to follow Christ.”
Not long after his decision to stand alone during the anthem, Isaac was in the headlines again—this time for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.
Of that decision, Isaac said, “Viewing it, it seemed forced.”
“It seemed that there was so much pressure in doing it. I don’t see the wisdom in putting something into my body that’s not going to stop me from getting the virus or transmitting it,” Isaac went on to say. “That is why I decided to be the only player on my team to not get vaccinated.”
In light of these public battles over social issues, Isaac was motivated to create a line of sports apparel that was distinctly “anti-woke.”
“Retail brands have the freedom to go woke,” Isaac tweeted to announce the launch of UNITUS. “We have the freedom to create an alternative.”
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“UNITUS is a sports and apparel company, and the basis of it, for me, is freedom,” Isaac said in a video interview that was posted alongside the tweet. “You have companies that are in that field that made a conscious decision to either attack or undermine Christian values, you know, conservative values and things like that.”
