Boosting former NFL quarterback-turned-racial activist Colin Kaepernick’s infamous national anthem protest, NBA star LeBron James posted a meme Tuesday showing side-by-side images of a cop involved in the George Floyd arrest and Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem of an NFL game.
“Do you understand NOW!!??!!??” James captioned the post. “Or is it still blurred to you?? #StayWoke.”
Floyd, who is black, died after an officer knelt on his neck during his arrest, as shown in a video clip that has since gone viral.
“An eight-minute clip filmed by a person on the street shows Floyd telling police he can’t breathe and begging the cop on top of him to stop before he falls unconscious,” The Daily Wire reported Tuesday. “Officer Derek Chauvin was identified as the officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck outside Cup Foods on Chicago Avenue and East 38th Street.”
“He’s not even resisting arrest right now, bro,” one bystander is heard telling the officers, according to the video. “You’re f***ing stopping his breathing right now, you think that’s cool?”
Since the arrest, all four officers involved have been fired, and the FBI and state law enforcement officials are actively investigating the 46-year-old’s death.
Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Laker stoked racial tensions, claiming to his massive Twitter following that black people are “literally hunted” every time they “step foot outside” their homes, in reaction to the death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.
“We’re literally hunted EVERYDAY/EVERYTIME we step foot outside the comfort of our homes!” James tweeted at the time.
“Can’t even go for a damn jog man!” the NBA star continued. “Like [what the f***] man are you kidding me?!?!?!?!?!? No man fr ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!! I’m sorry Ahmaud (Rest In Paradise) and my prayers and blessings sent to the […] heavens above to your family!!”
James added the hashtags “#StayWoke” and “#ProfiledCauseWeAreSimplyBlack”
The shooting of Arbery occurred in late-February and drew significant attention after graphic footage of the incident circulated online, as noted by The Daily Wire.
On Wednesday, the death of Floyd triggered rioting, looting, and arson in Minneapolis; dozens of looters destroyed a Target store on Wednesday, grabbing TVs and other goods, filling up carts, and jetting out of the store without paying. By nightfall, AutoZone, Target, and other businesses were set ablaze by rioters and at least one man was shot dead outside of a pawn shop.
Protests, at times violent, have also erupted in Los Angeles and New York City.
On Thursday, Kaepernick posted a message online discouraging civility. “When civility leads to death, revolting is the only logical reaction,” he said via Twitter. “The cries for peace will rain down, and when they do, they will land on deaf ears, because your violence has brought this resistance. We have the right to fight back!”
“Rest in Power George Floyd,” added the former QB.
Related: LeBron James: Black People ‘Literally Hunted EVERYDAY/EVERYTIME We Step Foot Outside’
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