Lebron James Talks Breonna Taylor, Black Lives Matter, & More

Source: Nike / NIke

The NBA is officially resuming its 2019-2020 season after a suspension during the coronavirus pandemic. After Rudy Gobert mocked the virus, within hours, COVID-19 caused the season to be interrupted for almost 5 months.

During the downtime, the murder of George Floyd sparked an uprising in the movement and fight for Black equality in America. The civil unrest made Black Lives Matter immediately become one of the biggest movements in modern history. With the civil unrest, many questioned if the return of basketball would be a distraction in the movement and the progress being seen across the United States. Many players immediately fired back letting everyone know they would keep the momentum going and be able to amplify those messages with the platform the NBA gives them.

The NBA as an organization announced it would paint ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the court and let players put social messages on the back of their jerseys.

LeBron James is one player who has always spoken out and contributed to the conversation, so it’s not surprising that he wasted no time doing so after his first game in Orlando. During his first post-game interview LeBron opened the conversation by speaking on Breonna Taylor and the Black Lives Matter movement, stating that he doesn’t like the term “movement.” Instead, Lebron says it’s a “walk of life” considering that he’s black every day.

“A lot of people kind of use this analogy, talking about Black Lives Matter as a movement. It’s not a movement,” said Lebron “When you’re Black, it’s not a movement. It’s a lifestyle. We sit here and say it’s a movement, and, OK, how long is this movement going to last? ‘Don’t stop the movement.’ No, this is a walk of life.

You can watch his entire presser footage below.