National Basketball Association star LeBron James shared a note of encouragement that former National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick wrote him.
James, who has emerged as a vocal proponent of the Black Lives Matter movement, posted the handwritten letter on Instagram on Friday. James was among those who led players in kneeling as the start of 2020’s NBA season began, a nod to Kaepernick, who began doing so as a way to protest racial injustice and police brutality while he was still playing for the San Francisco 49ers.
“Four years ago on August 14, 2016, I began protesting against systemic racism and social injustice. Truth is what I sought. Solidarity is what you showed me. Love is what moves us forward. Thank you for staying true,” Kaepernick wrote.
James added the caption, “Standing/kneeling right next to you brother! Appreciate you.”
“Solidarity is what you showed me. Love is what moves us forward. Thank you for staying true”
Colin Kaepernick’s message to LeBron James
(via @KingJames) pic.twitter.com/QvY2Zn1ArE
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 29, 2020
NBA players boycotted playoff games this week, a move that began with the Milwaukee Bucks refusing to play after Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man, was shot seven times in the back by a police officer during an attempted arrest. An end to the boycott was announced on Thursday after a three-hour meeting.
Kaepernick, who faced ire during his initial protests, has since seen his movement become more mainstream in sports as the country grapples with protests against racial injustice that were sparked by George Floyd’s death on Memorial Day.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this week that the league should have “listened earlier” to Kaepernick, who has been a free agent since 2017. He had previously encouraged teams to sign the former 49ers quarterback.
“These are not people who are unpatriotic. They’re not disloyal. They’re not against our military,” Goodell said about kneeling players. “What they were trying to do is exercise their right to bring attention to something that needs to get fixed. And that misrepresentation of who they were and what they were doing was the thing that really gnawed at me.”
