Sports

Spurs invite De La Cruz to sing national anthem again tonight

SAN ANTONIO – After being the target of racist comments after his rendition of the national anthem before Game 3 Tuesday night, the Spurs invited 11-year-old Sebastien De La Cruz back to perform again before Game 4 Thursday night.

De La Cruz gave a stirring rendition of the anthem Tuesday, only to be received by a barrage of negative and racist tweets after his performance, which only came when singer Darius Rucker was unable to make it to the arena in time to perform. After his performance before Game 4, for which he was introduced by San Antonio mayor Julian Castro, he received a standing ovation.

Before the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was asked about the situation and made it clear how he felt about it.

“Well, I would like to say that I would be shocked or surprised by the comments,” Popovich said. “But given the fact that there’s still a significant element of bigotry and racism in our nation, I’m not surprised. It still plagues us, obviously, and what I was surprised by was how proud these idiots were of their ignorance, by printing their names next to their comments.”

De La Cruz offered his own response on his personal Twitter account, @selcharrodeoro: “Please do not pay attention to the negative people. I am an American living the American Dream. This is part of the American Life.”

Popovich offered his support, as well as his praise, of De La Cruz for how he handled the situation.

“He’s a class act,” said Popovich. “Way more mature than most his age. And as much as those comments by the idiots saddens you about your country, he makes you feel that the future could be very bright.”

tbontemps@nypost.com