ORLANDO, Fla. _ LeBron James and his NBA brethren felt empowered to use their voices and platforms about social injustice and police brutality during the time spent in the NBA bubble, and it is the sincere hope of the Lakers forward they continue to speak out once the season is over.
The Lakers have a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals over the Miami Heat and a win Friday night at AdventHealth Arena on the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex would give them a 17th NBA championship, tying them with the Boston Celtics for the most in the league.
Whether the pandemic-delayed season is completed with Game 5 or later, James said "we don't stop" spreading the message of hope and justice for people of color.
"But I hope that people continue to use their platform, use their individual social media platforms, or if they are doing it that way, if you are an individual that goes into your community and does it that way," James said Thursday to reporters on a videoconference. "However that you continue to create change for the better of all of us, I think it only makes us all better. It doesn't matter what race you are. It doesn't matter what color you are. No matter how tall, whatever the case may be, because we all want to see better days. No matter if you agree or don't agree with some of the things that are going on, I think we'd all love to see better days and see more love than hate."
James will continue to stay involved when he leaves the bubble the Lakers have been in for 92 days.
He launched the More Than A Vote organization in June, a nonprofit group that was developed to fight Black voter suppression and help educate people about voting rights.
"I know I'll do my part, as much as I can do on continuing to create change, continue to educate, continue to enlighten my community and communities all over the word that listen to me and follow me throughout my journey," James said. "Like I said, you can control what you can control. What you can't, sometimes as much as it hurts, you just try not to worry about it."
