LeBron James has three children. And while his oldest, LeBron Jr. just started the sixth grade, that hasn’t stopped the Cleveland Cavaliers forward from thinking about what it could be like if he was old enough to drive.
“I look at my son being four years removed from driving his own car and being able to leave the house on his own,” James said Monday, a day before the defending NBA champions begin training camp. “It’s a scary thought right now to think if my son gets pulled over, and you tell your kids if you just (comply), and you just listen to the police that they will be respectful and things will work itself out.
“And you see these videos that continue to come out. It’s a scary-ass situation that if my son calls me and said he’s been pulled over, that I’m not that confident that things are going to go well and that my son is going to return home.”
James also said Monday that he will stand for the national anthem before games this season. That came in response to a question directed to him about the actions of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who started a protest to raise awareness about racial issues affecting the country.
Last week, the NBA and NBA Players Association jointly released a memo to players saying that “it is really important” that they hear from them.
“We will be working with your teams during training camp to get your thoughts and ideas,” the letter said.
The NBA has a rule that players are to stand for the national anthem.
“I’m all in favor of anyone, athlete or non-athlete, being able to express what they believe in in a peaceful manner,” James said. “That’s exactly what Colin Kaepernick is doing, and I respect that. I think you guys know when I’m passionate about something, I speak up on it.
“Me standing for the national anthem is something I will do. That’s who I am. That’s what I believe in, but that doesn’t mean I don’t respect and don’t agree with what Colin Kaepernick is doing. You have the right to voice your opinion, stand for your opinion, and he’s doing it in the most peaceful way I’ve ever seen someone do something.”
James showed his own passion for a cause in July, when he joined fellow NBA players Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul on stage at the ESPYs with a call to action to promote social change.
“We stood up there understanding what the state of America was in at that point in time and what our personal feelings were,” James said. “We’re not politicians, so we weren’t up there saying America is bad, things of that nature. That’s not our position because America has done so many great things for all of us. Those were our personal feelings, and the one thing that we wanted to get out of that is that we continue the conversation.”
