LeBron James on kneeling protest during national anthem: ‘I hope we made Kap proud’

On Thursday, LeBron James and his Los Angeles Lakers teammates knelt during the National anthem of the NBA match. He was accompanied by the players of Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz. This demonstration led by LeBron James was done in protest against systemic racism and staggering police brutality in the US.

This kind of demonstration is the first of its kind in more than 30 years. A similar protest was orchestrated by Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in the 1990s when had refused to stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner” during his time as a player for the Denver Nuggets.

LeBron James in a statement later said “I hope we made Kal proud” referring to the incident of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback player Colin Kapernick who had taken a kneel during the national anthem of  NFL as a protest against police brutality inflicted on Black Americans.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver supported the player’s silent protest and said that he would not enforce the “long-standing rule requiring standing during the playing of our national anthem.”

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