LeBron James: Cleveland Cavaliers have not yet discussed national anthem plans
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — In the wake of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refusing to stand for the national anthem — his form of peaceful protest of police violence toward African-Americans — and other athletes following his lead, teams around the NBA are carrying out their own visions.
But hours before the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first preseason game, LeBron James says the Cavs have not talked about what, if anything, they will do during Wednesday’s national anthem.
“If it comes up we can talk about it,” James said. “But it hasn’t come up. I don’t know.”
On Tuesday, the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets stood side-by-side with their arms around each other during the national anthem.
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/wsndcS39IR
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) October 5, 2016
James didn’t see the gesture, which was a sign of unity, and doesn’t think he needs to be the one leading that specific conversation for the Cavaliers.
“I think we have great unity in our group, but if it’s something the guys want to talk about and bring up then I’m not going to — I don’t feel like it needs to be brought up in our locker room,” James said. “I know what guys believe in and what we’re all about, but if it’s brought up as something to talk about then we can talk about it.”
Back in July, at the top of the ESPYs telecast, James joined friends Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul for a joint speech that called for the end of police shootings of unarmed black men and also for athletes to go into their communities and make improvements.
“What I’m doing with my foundation is what I talked about in my piece,” James said. “We all had an opportunity to talk about what we wanted to talk about and all those four paragraphs came together in one. But I feel like I’m doing my part to help my community, help spread the word. Like I said, it starts from the ground up: brick by brick, street by street and family by family so I’m trying to do as much as I can do to just give a better outlook on life, especially in my community.”
It remains unclear what the Cavs will do during the national anthem prior to the Orlando game. However, James has already made one thing certain: He won’t be kneeling like Kaepernick.
“I think you guys know when I’m passionate about something I’ll speak up on it, so me standing for the national anthem is something I will do, that’s who I am, that’s what I believe in,” James said during the team’s media day about two weeks ago. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t respect and don’t agree with what Colin Kaepernick is doing. You have the right to voice your opinion, stand for your opinion and he’s doing it in the most peaceful way I’ve ever seen someone do something.”
LeBron James: Cleveland Cavaliers have not yet discussed national anthem plans
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