Kobe Bryant and several of his Los Angeles Lakers’ teammates donned “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts for pregame warmups against the Sacramento Kings — the latest athletes to take public stances in the case of Eric Garner, a New York suspect who died an hour or so after a policeman put him in a chokehold.
The L.A. Lakers also tweeted out a photograph of the team members’ not-so-subtle political protest, The Huffington Post reported.
“Tipping off in moments. #GoLakers:” the tweet from Los Angeles Lakers said. And in another tweet, the Los Angeles Lakers posted a video of the players in the black T-shirts with white “I Can’t Breathe” print going through their warmups.
Prior to the warmups, forward Carlos Boozer posted his own photo and message — a shot of the T-shirt draped by his locker with the message: “#icantbreathe #saysitall,” The Huffington Post reported.
The Lakers’ action follows a similarly made statement by five players with the St. Louis Rams who walked on the field making the “Hands up, don’t shoot” gesture, a commentary on the police shooting of Ferguson teen Michael Brown.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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