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76ers Issue Statement: 'Sevyn Should Have Been Welcomed To Sing'

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia 76ers have issued a statement, admitting they made the wrong decision in prohibiting Sevyn from singing the national anthem.

"We are sorry that this happened. After receiving feedback from our players, basketball operations staff and ownership group, we believe that the wrong decision was made, and Sevyn should have been welcomed to sing. We apologize to her, and in an effort to move the conversation forward, we have reached out to offer her an opportunity to return and perform at a game of her choice. We are waiting to hear back."

Sevyn, an R&B singer, was supposed to perform the national anthem during Wednesday night's season opener, but she was prohibited from doing so because of her "We Matter" shirt. Instead, the anthem was sung by Sixers dancer Jemila Worley.

Related: Did Sixers Make Right Call Not Allowing Anthem Singer To Perform With 'We Matter' Shirt?

Sevyn expressed her displeasure on Twitter.

Originally, the Sixers stood by their decision releasing this statement.

"The Philadelphia 76ers organization encourages meaningful actions to drive social change. We use our games to bring people together, to build trust and to strengthen our communities. As we move from symbolic gestures to action, we will continue to leverage our platform to positively impact our community."

94WIP's Angelo Cataldi believed the Sixers made the right decision.

"I think the Sixers handled it spectacularly well," Cataldi told CBS 3 earlier this week. "They hired that woman to sing the anthem, not to make a political statement. I agree with her statement, we all matter. Everyone matters. But that wasn't what they wanted. They ended up getting the dance team girl, Jemila [Worley], in. And she knocked it out of the building. She was so great."

The Sixers players were upset with the team's decision and discussed the matter during a meeting at their practice facility.

"Everybody expressed their emotions about it," forward Robert Covington said. "We want to take steps about it. We just don't know exactly what steps we want to take. We talked about a lot of different things."

"We understand the situation and we respect the social issue involved," coach Brett Brown said Thursday. "We completely get it. As a group, we will try to find a way to deal with this."

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