LeBron James Calls For Social Change In The Wake Of Jacob Blake Shooting

The NBA bubble has given the league and the players an opportunity to bring issues of social justice and racial discrimination to a national platform. Following the Lakers’ game four win over the Portland Trail Blazers, LeBron James took the opportunity to speak about the shooting of Jacob Blake and racial discrimination in America. “I know people get tired of hearing me say it, but we are scared as black people in America,” James said. “Black men, black women, black kids, we are terrified.”

Blake was shot by police on Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as he tried to enter the driver’s side door of his vehicle. The shooting was captured on video and the disturbing images of the shooting have sparked this outrage. “If you’re sitting here and telling me that there was no way to subdue that gentleman or detain him or just before the firing of guns, then you’re sitting here and lying to not only me, but you’re lying to every African American, every black person in the community,” James said. “Because we see it over and over and over. If you watch the video, there were multiple moments where if they wanted to, they could’ve tackled him. They could’ve grabbed him. You know? They could’ve done that. And why, why does it always have to get to a point where we see the guns firing?”

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul also used his postgame interview, following his team’s game four win over the Houston Rockets, to discuss Blake’s shooting and it is likely that there will be many more forms of protest in that days to come.