On Wednesday, members of the Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott their playoff game against the Orlando Magic in response to yet another police-involved shooting of a Black individual.
Initially, players around the NBA joined in solidarity and seriously considered boycotting the rest of the postseason, but they decided to play on instead while demanding that team owners take action against systemic racism.
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was the driving force behind the decision. As a result, he received a thank you note from Colin Kaepernick, and James responded to the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback.
Colin Kaepernick sent a note to LeBron James thanking him for protesting.
LeBron says he's standing/kneeling next to Kap.
(via @KingJames) pic.twitter.com/T5keNVaTHJ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 29, 2020
Kaepernick became infamous four years ago when he started taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem in order to protest against systemic racism.
Although he took the Niners to the brink of winning Super Bowl XLVII, Kaepernick was essentially blackballed by the league, and he hasn’t been on a roster since, although he was just 28 at the time.
When it’s all said and done, James may not only go down as perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time but also one of sports’ greatest activists ever.