James gives homage to ‘Kap’ by kneeling
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. >> By taking a knee on Thursday, Lebron James was among the NBA players, coaches, staffers and referees who hoped to make a statement against systemic racial problems in America.
In doing so, he followed the path of a man he’s long said he’s admired — former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was pushed out of the NFL for his protests of police violence against people of color.
“I hope we made Kap proud,” James said. “I hope we continue to make Kap proud.”
James has supported Kaepernick for several years, notably wearing a shirt in warm-ups with the blackballed quarterback’s name on it, then saying during the 2019 All-star Weekend that he figuratively kneeled with him.
While Kaepernick initially received many rebukes for showing signs of what many people felt were disrespect to the flag or the military, James said he hoped that understanding had evolved and people could widely see why Kaepernick began protesting in 2016 — now that more instances of racial injustice had come to light.
“You go back and look at any of his postgame interviews when he talked about why he was kneeling, it had absolutely nothing to do about the flag, had absolutely nothing to do about the soldiers, the men and women that keep our land free,” James said. “He explained that and the ears were uncomfortable. People never listened. They refused to listen and I did.”
But James had not physically kneeled in any protest before Thursday night. James acknowledged that it’s been a learning process for him, and that he didn’t want to act before he was “fully educated.”
Kaepernick’s gesture of kneeling has gained more support than ever in the last two months, particularly in light of George Floyd’s death when a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck. Even the NFL has begun to backpedal on public stances that it required its players to stand for the anthem. The NBA has a rule to that effect, but commissioner Adam Silver declined to enforce it on Thursday night, and it’s believed he won’t as the season progresses and more demonstrations occur.
James was among the players who shared a sideby-side image of Kaepernick and accused murderer former police officer Derek Chauvin, and he also criticized New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees for speaking out against kneeling during the national anthem.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers said the juxtaposition became powerfully clear as he kneeled on the court for the anthem.
“The national anthem took two minutes,” he said. “There were guys that needed towels and things to get under their knees. Yet someone kneeled on another human being’s neck for eight minutes. That’s nuts when you think about it.”
Only one player, Jonathan Isaac of the Orlando Magic, has openly declined to take part in the kneeling protests. He cited religious beliefs following his team’s opening game with the Nets as a reason not to kneel.