‘Do you understand now?’ LeBron James says George Floyd’s death was the reason Kaepernick knelt
LeBron James and several celebrities joined the chorus of protesters calling for justice in the death of George Floyd.
The NBA superstar posted a side-by-side photo of Floyd with an officer’s knee in his neck and Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem.
“This is Why,” read the image’s title, a clear reference to Kaepernick’s contentious protest of racial injustice during the 2016 NFL season.
“Do you understand NOW!!??!!?? Or is it still blurred to you??” James wrote in the caption.
Floyd died Monday after a confrontation with Minneapolis police ended in a white officer’s knee held against his neck for several minutes as he repeatedly begged for air. A bystander recorded the encounter, the video of which has since made rounds on social media.
““Please, please, please, I can’t breathe,” Floyd told officers. “My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Please, please. I can’t breathe.”
Miami-born rapper Rick Ross posted an image of Floyd with his “I can’t breathe” quote superimposed over his face.
Director Ava Duvernay seemingly addressed Floyd in an extensive note on Twitter.
“You deserved your breath, your dignity, your life,” she wrote. “Not to die in the street, murdered by a white cop’s knee on your neck. You deserve our tears, our prayers, our rage, our action. We must act — for you — and for all of those were no cameras are present.”
While some celebrities demanded answers, others, like Cardi B, questioned what will it take for change.
“What will it take?” she wrote on Instagram. “A civil war ? A new president? Violent riots ? It’s tired! I’m tired! The country is tired!You don’t put fear in people when you do this you just show how coward YOU ARE! And how America is really not the land of the free!”
In statement released Tuesday, Minneapolis police claimed the four officers were responding to reports of a forgery when the incident occurred. Officers had attempted to detain Floyd but he “physically resisted.” He died in the hospital after “suffering medical distress,” according to police.
The four officers were fired Tuesday evening as thousands of protesters marched through the Minneapolis streets. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey even called for criminal charges to be filed against the officer who knelt on Floyd, the Associated Press reported.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 5:01 PM.
