"I Can't Breath" Shirts

On December 9, 2014, In Brooklyn it was the Cavaliers versus the Nets. During pre game warm ups several players from the Cavaliers and the Nets were wearing the black "I Can't Breathe" T-shirt. Those players included LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Garnett, and Deron Williams. First to support the T-Shirt was Derrick Rose from the Chicago Bulls to support the family of Eric Garner. LeBron had to say this before Mondays game,"It's not a Cavs thing, It's a worldly thing." In the past couple of weeks on several occasions, LeBron has spoken out about the deaths of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Tamir Rice in Cleveland. Garner, Brown, and Rice were all African American males who died because of confrontation with a police officer. LeBron had to say this about being asked about the T-shirt, "It's just for us to make a statement to understand what we're going through in society ,I've been quoted over and over about whats going on as far as it's more of a notion to the family, more than anything. Obviously, as a society we have to do better. We have to be better for one another. It doesn't matter what race you are. It's more of a shout out to the family more than anything, because they're the ones that should be getting all the energy and effort." LeBron told the media on Sunday he was looking for the same T-shirt Derrick Rose was wearing before the Nets game. Jarrett Jack heard LeBrons comments and supplied for players on both teams to wear. Before the game, Jack, who played for Cleveland last season, told reporters he offered the T-shirts to members of the Cavs. This is what Jack had to say," I just heard people's opinion on the topic, and I know (the Cavaliers) are on the road, this is place where it happened, so if they wanted to be a part of the cause or make a statement without actually necessarily saying any words, I definitely extended the invitation." Kyrie had to say things about supporting the T-shirts, " I think it's really important that we show our respect to the families. More importantly we're in the city where the tragedy happened and it's really important to us that we stand up for a cause, especially this one. It hits close to home and means a lot to me." LeBron had to more to say after the 110-88 victory, "It was a message to the family. That I'm sorry for their loss, sorry to his wife. That's what it's about. I think everybody else gets caught up in everything else besides who's really feeling it, and that's the family. That's what it's about." NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had to say this about players wearing the T-shirts, " I respect Derrick Rose and all of our players for voicing their personal views on important issues but my preference would be for players to abide by our on-court attire rules." Players are required to wear attire of Adidas, the leagues official apparel provider, but a league source told ESPN's Jeremy Schaap that the NBA will not fine players who wore the shirts in warm ups. Outside Barclays Center, a couple hundred protestors chanted and participated in a "die-in" in front of the main entrance to the area as members of the NYPD looked on and helped secure the area. Their chants included "I Can't Breathe! I Can't Breathe!" and "No justice! No peace! No racist police!"