Obama Backs LeBron’s “I Can’t Breathe” Shirt

President Barack Obama lent his support to LeBron James’s decision to wear a T-shirt emblazoned with Eric Garner’s final words. The Cleveland Cavaliers star joined other athletes, including members of the Brooklyn Nets (thanks to Jay Z), the Charlotte Hornets, and Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls in wearing the shirts.

“You know, I think LeBron did the right thing,” Obama told People magazine. “We forget the role that Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe and Bill Russell played in raising consciousness. We went through a long stretch there where [with] well-paid athletes the notion was: just be quiet and get your endorsements and don’t make waves. LeBron is an example of a young man who has, in his own way and in a respectful way, tried to say, ‘I’m part of this society, too’ and focus attention.”

Obama added that he would “like to see more athletes do that.” Police unions around the country, who tend to pop up and demand apologies any time their local athletes make a statement about police brutality, probably won’t welcome the president’s position, which makes it all the more important. Garner died after being placed in a chokehold by an N.Y.P.D. officer, and after a grand jury decided not to indict the officer, Daniel Pantaleo, daily protests have popped up around the city.

After Cleveland Browns receiver Andrew Hawkins wore a shirt demanding “justice for Tamir Rice and John Crawford,” two other black victims killed by officers, the local police union called him “pathetic.” Hawkins responded by saying, “A call for justice shouldn't warrant an apology.” Members of the Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Rams, and Detroit Lions have worn shirts with the “I Can’t Breathe” message emblazoned on them and/or performed the “hands up, don’t shoot” gesture that became popular during protests of the killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager killed by an officer in Ferguson, Missouri.