Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James showed solidarity with a number of athletes by donning an "I Can't Breathe" shirt, a nod to - as most people see it - the wrongful death of Eric Garner.
Multiple athletes - Reggie Bush and Derrick Rose, to name a few - wore "I Can't Breathe" shirts as a form of protest against the police actions that ultimately ended the lives of Michael Brown and Garner. In front of members of England's royal family - Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - James joined by wearing an "I Can't Breathe" shirt during pregame warm-ups ahead of Cleveland's game at the Barclays Center against the Brooklyn Nets.
When asked about his decision to wear the shirt, James expounded.
"It's just for us to make a (statement) to understand what we're going through as a society," James said, via ESPN. "I've been quoted over and over about what's going on as far as it's more of a notion to the family, more than anything. Obviously, as a society we have to do better. We have to be better for one another. It doesn't matter what race you are. It's more of a shout out to the family more than anything, because they're the ones that should be getting all the energy and effort."
Cavaliers teammate Kyrie Irving wore an identical shirt, along with Nets players Kevin Garnett, Deron Williams, Alan Anderson and Jarrett Jack.
"I think it's really important that we show our respect to the families," Irving said. "More importantly we're in the city where tragedy happened and it's really important to us that we stand up for a cause, especially this one. It hits close to home and means a lot to me. ...
"It's bigger than all of us. We have to take a stand together. It's truly important that we do."
Protestors assembled outside of the arena, chanting, "I can't breathe!" As of this publication, no arrests were reported.
