Some Lakers wear ‘I can’t breathe’ t-shirts during pregame warmups
Some Lakers wore “I can’t breathe” t-shirts in protest on Tuesday night at Staples Center, prior to their game against the Sacramento Kings.
A New York grand jury recently chose not to indict a police officer in the death of Eric Garner, an African -American man who died in a chokehold while being arrested July 17.
In solidarity with the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose, Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and a number of other players over the course of the past few days, Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer, Jeremy Lin, Nick Young and other Lakers donned shirts with the same message.
James credited Brooklyn Nets guard Jarrett Jack for providing him, along with Kyrie Irving, Kevin Garnett and Deron Williams, the shirts for warmups.
“I respect Derrick Rose and all of our players for voicing their personal views on important issues, but my preference would be for players to abide by our on-court attire rules,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Monday to Yahoo Sports.
A number of NFL players, including Reggie Bush of the Detroit Lions, have also worn the shirt.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus
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