LeBron James and his colleagues at the Los Angeles Lakers were already upset after a Wisconsin prosecutor decided on Tuesday not to accuse a police officer who shot a black man last year.
Then came Wednesday when a violent crowd loyal to U.S. President Donald Trump invaded the U.S. Capitol to delay Congress from certifying the results of the November election.
What James watched on television with his family continued to reinforce his view of the wide divide in the country.
“We live in two Americas and that was an excellent example of that yesterday. If you don’t understand or see this, you need to take a step back. Not just one step, but four, five or even ten steps back, ”said James on Thursday night, after finishing with 27 points in the Lakers’ 118-109 defeat by the San Antonio Spurs. “How do you want your children or grandchildren to live in this beautiful country? Because it wasn’t that yesterday.
NBA TV
(@NBATV)“I couldn’t help wondering, if it were my species attacking the Capitol, what would have been the result?” @King James addresses yesterday’s events in Washington, DC pic.twitter.com/Csgl7ZeSSi
“I couldn’t help wondering if those were my species attacking the Capitol, what the result would have been. We all know what would have happened if someone had come close, let alone a storm or entered the offices. “
James wore a shirt when entering the Staples Center before the game that said ‘DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW?’ in large block letters. He also had the message written on his sneakers during the game. In smaller letters, the shirt also contained a slogan invoked by James in the past: “In memoriam of the countless black lives lost to police brutality and racial injustice.”
The NBA’s four-time Most Valuable Player expanded his ideas in an Instagram post, describing the situation as “2 AMERIKKKAS”:
DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW ??? !! I know the answer to that. You still do not matter what happens you still will not judge, looked at crazy, chained, beaten, shot to death because of the color of your skin !!!! 2 AMERIKKKAS we live in and it was at FULL CAPACITY LIVE IN DIRECT yesterday in our Nations CAPITAL IN CAPITAL !! 🤦🏾♂️😢😢😢. #IPrayForBetterDaysForMyPeople 🙏🏾✊🏾🖤👑
When asked what we mean by his shirt, James said he wants people to understand what athletes and black people are saying.
“You will never understand what it feels like to be a black man and woman in America,” said James. “Do you understand how difficult it is for us to continue to inspire and give everything we have? Everyone jumps in the movement of what we offer, what we bring.
“The way we dress, our music, our culture, our food. Everyone steals what we do and so they want to act as if they have done it or brought it into this world. We have not received our due diligence. We don’t get respect. We received nothing in return for what we gave this country, except a slap in the face. “
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(@NBATV)“We received nothing that we gave this country other than a slap in the face.” @King James shares his ideas about being black in America. pic.twitter.com/d4sx6XnmD5
Tuesday’s decision by a prosecutor in Kenosha, Wisconsin, not to press charges against the officer who shot Jacob Blake caused anger across the NBA. Blake’s shooting was one of many social problems that players focused on last summer, when the game resumed in the Orlando, Florida bubble.
James remained a critic of Trump during his four years in office and said that what happened at the Capitol was a direct correlation to what Trump stands for.
“The events that happened yesterday were a direct correlation to the president who is in the seat now: his actions, his beliefs, his desires,” said James. “He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. No one. Absolutely no one. He doesn’t care about this country. He doesn’t care about his family. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself.
“We saw tweets all the way to that destruction. In the past four years, we all knew. One thing that you can never recover is time. We literally shit four years. How can we recover this? “
He added: “Yesterday was a shame. We should set an example for all other countries on how to manage things and change the world, and yesterday we looked like a country in the third, fourth, fifth world. It was very embarrassing. “
Players and coaches from both teams locked arms in a circle in the middle of the court during the national anthem ahead of Thursday’s game at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
Jovan Buha
(@jovanbuha)Lakers and Spurs are arm in arm in a half court during the national anthem pic.twitter.com/fICtAd1NEb
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who also had no hesitation in expressing his views on Trump, said he believed the president liked Wednesday’s insurrection.
“I believe with all my heart that Trump liked it,” Popovich said 90 minutes before the report. “They talked about the police and how easy it was and the barriers were removed and they just went straight in. This does not happen unless there is a wink and a nod somewhere. It just doesn’t happen. This has never happened in any protest that anyone has ever seen.
“That’s why I don’t think it’s so unlikely that people will start talking about the 25th amendment. We know it probably won’t happen. “
Popovich also praised James, calling him an “iconic figure”.
“As a human being and a citizen and looking at the social issues of our time, he doesn’t do it with hate. He just tells the truth, ”said Popovich of James.