During Wednesday night's home game against the Kings, the Pelicans sported yellow socks as a show of symbolic support of Ukraine. The team announced the move to reporters ahead of tipoff, with the players's blue jerseys bearing a resemblance to the Ukraine national flag.
Last week, New Orleans center Jonas Valanciunas spoke about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying he hopes the war would end soon. Valanciunas hails from Lithuania, which resides to the north of Ukraine with Poland in between.
“First of all, I want to say that my heart and prayers go to Ukrainian people,” Valanciunas said. “Innocent people who are suffering, dying and losing their loved ones—men who are defending country. War is not a solution. War has to stop.”
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has created enormous ripple effects throughout the sporting world. FIFA and UEFA announced a ban on Russian teams from all international competitions—including the men's World Cup—while the Premier League announced ways in which it planned to “show solidarity“ with Ukraine in upcoming games.
In the basketball world, FIBA announced Tuesday it was banning Russian teams from its events indefinitely.
The Pelicans entered Wednesday's game as the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference, tied with the Trail Blazers.
