INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — LeBron James says honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. is more important than ever because “we’re trying to be divided right now by somebody.”
James was referring to President Trump, whom the Cavaliers star has openly criticized in the past. James spoke Monday as he and his teammates prepared to host Golden State in one 11 NBA games played on the national holiday for the civil rights leader who was assassinated 50 years ago.
James credited the league for playing games as a tribute “for a man who stood for more than himself. He actually gave up his life for the betterment of all of us to be able to live in a free world and for us to be able to have a voice, for us to go out and be free no matter your skin color, no matter who you are. He took a bullet for all of us.”
“The state of racism will never die, but what we cannot do is allow it to conquer us as people,” James said. “We can’t allow it to divide us. The guy in control has given people and racism, and negative racism, an opportunity to be out and outspoken without fear. And that’s the fearful thing for us because it’s with you, and it’s around every day, but he’s allowed people to come out and just feel confident about doing negative things.”
James added, “We can’t allow that to stop us from continuing to be together and preach the right word of livin’ and lovin’ and laughin’ and things of that nature. Because would we want to live anywhere else? I don’t think so. We love this place.”
“I hope I could make him proud or made him proud,” James said. “Just taking what he was able to give to us and give us that type of empowerment, give us that type of strength to be able to go out and talk about things that really matter. Be able to live for something that’s more than you as an individual. So hopefully I would be one of those guys that made him proud. Hopefully I’m making him proud still with him looking down on us.”
***Associated Press contributed to this report***
