Wednesday night marked the first time in almost 40 years that the Detroit Pistons played in the heart of Detroit. Since 1988 the Pistons played their home games in the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan and before that they played in the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan from 1978-1988, so being back in the city of Detroit was something that was celebrated by everyone in the city including celebrities such as Eminem and Kid Rock.
To open up the game the Pistons had Eminem hype up the crowd:
As you Eminem was greeted with a lot of cheers, Kid Rock did not have the same reaction. According the Detroit Free Press, Kid Rock was showered with boos when he was on the video board. Both Eminem and Kid Rock are extremely popular musicians with their roots stemming from Detroit, but the big difference between the two is their political view. Kid Rock is on record as a Trump supporter, whereas Eminem is very against Trump as seen in his BET Cypher.
The difference in fan reaction did not go unnoticed. Coach Stan Van Gundy noticed and commented on it after the game:
Without making a statement, they were able to make a statement,
Van Gundy has spoken out against Trump on numerous occasions. In fact the Pistons organization as a whole seem to take a stand against Trump. Owner Tom Gores has openly said that he would support his players kneeling for the anthem, this obviously goes against our current administration’s beliefs.
The city of Detroit, the coach for Detroit and the organization as whole all seem to be on the same page when it comes to this topic.