“We want change, as a community we really want change, and this begins in November,” on the day Presidential elections are held in the United States.
This was the reaction of NBA basketball star LeBron James, after hearing the news of police shooting Jacob Blake in the back, seven times, in the presence of his three children.
The victim, driving a SUV accompanied by his family, got out of the vehicle to see if he could help end a quarrel between two women. When he attempted to return to the vehicle, he was shot. Blake was in critical condition at the time this note was written.
“And y’all wonder why we say what we say about the Police! Someone please tell me WTF is this??? Exactly another black man being targeted! This shit is so wrong and so sad... We want justice,” tweeted James, among the many professional athletes in the U.S. who, since Donald Trump took office, have been outspoken critics of the President.
Other players and teams have joined the protests focused most recently on Kenosha, Wisconsin, where the attack on Jacob Blake took place. Mike Budenholzer, coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, in the same state, released a statement demanding government accountability in the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sylville Smith, Ernest Lacy, Dontre Hamilton, Tony Robinson, Jony Acevedo and innumerable other victims of police brutality.
The statement was supported by the entire basketball team, while Donovan Mitchell, of the Utah Jazz tweeted, “This is sick and is a real problem, we demand justice! It’s crazy I don’t have any words, but what the hell man! This is why we don’t feel safe.”
Other respected U.S. athletes have expressed their indignation in the face of such outrageous police violence, including National Football League players Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas and Tyrann Mathieu.
In the meantime, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers deployed troops to control the street protests by the Black Lives matter movement in several cities, including Appleton.
After the police murder of George Floyd, LeBron James launched the “More than a Vote” campaign, to promote the participation of the black community in the November 3 elections, saying, “This is the time for us to finally make a difference.”
