Johnathan Isaac, Orlando Magic Player Who Refused to Kneel for Anthem, Undergoes Successful ACL Surgery

Orlando Magic player Jonathan Isaac tore his ACL during the fourth quarter of a game against the Sacramento Kings. This injury, which occurred after he stood for the national anthem and did not wear a Black Lives Matters shirt, ended Isaac's season. Now he has undergone successful surgery and will attack his recovery.

According to the NBA wire, Isaac underwent successful surgery on Friday to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscal tear on his left knee. Dr. Robert LaPrade performed the surgery. Isaac will now remain away from the NBA indefinitely as he recovers. Meanwhile, the Magic will stay in the Eastern Conference's playoff picture as the eighth seed.

The injury initially occurred during the fourth quarter of a game against the Sacramento Kings. Isaac drove to the lane and did a hop step between two defenders. He fell to the ground and clutched his left knee. No one touched Isaac before him falling, creating immediate concern about the seriousness of the injury.

This was Isaac's second game back in the lineup after a previous injury. He hyperextended his left knee on Jan. 1 during a game against the Washington Wizards. This injury kept Isaac out of the lineup for 31 games. Before leaving the game against the Kings, Isaac registered 4 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in 15 minutes.

When Isaac tore his ACL, Kings player Harry Giles III offered some words of support. The big man tore both of his ACLs in high school and also underwent a procedure on his left knee prior to starting college. He later detailed the brief conversation while speaking to reporters.

"Just kind of telling him to stay up, stay positive," Giles said. "I just hate to see that because it's tough. I don't really like speaking on that too much. It's just unfortunate, man, because he's been working and with the brace on. You hate to see him get hurt again."

While members of both teams talked about this severe injury, Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman faced questions about the injury timeline. He responded by saying that this ACL tear was not related to the previous issue. Weltman also noted that the team did not bring Isaac back too soon.

"Those of you that follow us locally know if you're ever going to criticize us with the timing of returning our players to play, it's at the other end of the spectrum," Weltman said, per ESPN. "It's that we're too cautious, we wait too long, we take too careful of an approach. The approach to Jonathan's injury was no different than any other injury we've had in the last three years. We were very careful."