National Basketball Association superstar LeBron James spoke out about the need for stricter gun laws Friday, one day after a 5-month-old girl in Cleveland was killed in a drive-by shooting. James initially reacted with several posts on Twitter, calling for calm and change.
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James decried both situations and took a strong stance on gun control, a divisive issue in the U.S.
James said he didn’t hear Obama’s speech, but “I know what I see”.
James didn’t specifically say in what form increased gun control could take, but his comments again reinforce he is not afraid to express his opinion on complex and complicated societal issues, even if his thoughts serve as a lightning rod for criticism. It’s also the whole nation that goes through this as well.
James said he saw news of the child Wakefield’s shooting break across his phone while he was sitting at home with his three children and “it automatically just hit me”.
In what’s become a worrying trend, gun training courses are springing up in the United States in response to recent mass shootings. I don’t know how you can do that. “There’s so many around now, today”.
He followed fellow National Basketball Association star Derrick Rose’s lead by wearing “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts in recognition of the death of Eric Garner a year ago, who was killed after a police officer reportedly put him in a chokehold during an arrest. James has been active in helping children in the community through his foundation, but that focus has primarily been on education.
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“Part of the education program we’re doing is keeping those kids off the street and keeping their situations that’s maybe bad and turning them into good”, he said.
