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LeBron James reflects on Trayvon Martin's death
Trayvon Martin was just 17 -- the same age LeBron James' oldest child, Bronny, is now -- when he was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman 10 years ago this week. James' response to Martin's death -- including a famous tweet of the Miami Heat with their hoodies pulled up -- was the start of a public commitment to social activism. "Until you know who you are, it's hard to speak for other people. Or speak for anything. You got to be comfortable with yourself," James told ESPN earlier this month when asked about Martin's death. "I think it's unfortunate that we, as a society sometimes, we want certain people to talk and we want certain people to [take on issues]. Like, 'Why aren't you speaking for [this community]?' I think for me, when I was younger, I wasn't in that position to do that."
James was 27 at the time and had yet to win any of the four championships he went on to earn with the Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. James, who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline "The Chosen One" at 17, was drafted with the No. 1 pick out of high school at 18 and had his signature Nike sneakers flying off the shelves by 19, was still figuring out life in the spotlight after his controversial "Decision" made-for-TV special followed by his first season in Miami ending with a disappointing NBA Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks. "I grew," James said. "I grew. And as I grew to know who I am, to know what I want do with my life, to know the family that I have, now I understand that my calling is to be able to inspire others and also be able to give voices to people that don't have voices."
"It's never going to stop," he said. "It's never going to stop, but that don't mean we stop. 'Can't stop, won't stop' is what Diddy says. At the end of the day, we know the turmoil and everything that's going on. They're going to look at Black people how they've always viewed us: Smile in our face and [act like] it's fine. "But at the end of the day, we can't stop. We can't stop speaking up for things that are unjust. We can't stop speaking up about things that we feel are wrong -- or things that are right. And calling out people that literally are simply just bad people."
Haliburton, who grew up in predominantly white Oshkosh, Wisconsin, said his interest in Black history and social justice was initially sparked after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot to death by George Zimmerman on Feb. 26, 2012. “At that time, I was 11, about to be 12 years old, and to learn about that and seeing the pain in my pop’s eyes,” he said. “You know, I had my parents having to sit me down and talk to me about the world that I was entering as a kid, really, that the world I was going to be entering. Yeah, I think that kind of sparked everything for me. And, it was hearing my dad have dialogue with people about that situation. I think that started me to really get involved in what’s going on.
Temple, who has been studying for the LSAT during the league’s hiatus, is the son of Collis Temple, the first Black athlete to play basketball at LSU. Collis Temple received threats while playing for the Tigers in the early 1970s, and the National Guard was called in to protect him. As he got older, Collis Temple shared his experiences with his children. Those stories had a profound effect on Garrett, who has been active in the Black Lives Matter movement for years. The 6-foot-5 guard was in Los Angeles in 2013 when George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of Trayvon Martin and said he did not recall the acquittal eliciting a notable uproar there. But he said recently he’s seen a change in the movement after George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis. “It made me angry that it was so foreign to so many people, or people just didn’t even pay attention to it,” Temple said. “Fast forward, it seems like people are finally starting to care about unarmed Black men being brutalized by the police and just Black Americans in general being marginalized.”
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Dwyane Wade: Wow!!! Stunned!!! Saddened as a father!!! Some1 make sense of this verdict for me right now please!!! Don't worry I'll wait...
Jared Sullinger: My heart and soul goes out to the Trayvons parents. I feel their pain. Unlike a lot of you ruthless ppl I have a heart and it feels for them
Marreese Speights: This dude killed a kid now he found not guilty!!! Woow good luck Zimmerman!!! But mike Vick was fighting dogs in he got prison time!!
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Marshon Brooks: RIP Trayvon
Reggie Williams: It's about to be a RIOT im FLA !!!!
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