LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James and his Los Angeles Lakers teammates have been already upset after a Wisconsin prosecutor on Tuesday determined to not cost a police officer who shot a Black man final 12 months.

Then got here Wednesday when a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol to delay Congress from certifying the outcomes of November’s election.

What James watched on tv alongside together with his household continued to bolster his view of the broad divide within the nation.

”We reside in two Americas and a main instance of that was yesterday. For those who do not perceive or see that then you could take a step again. Not only one step however 4 or 5 and even 10 steps backward,” James stated Thursday evening after the Los Angeles Lakers misplaced to the San Antonio Spurs 118-109. ”How would you like your youngsters or grandkids to reside on this stunning nation? Yesterday was not it. I could not assist however to surprise if these have been my type storming the Capitol what would have been the end result. Everyone knows what would have occurred if anybody even bought shut not to mention storm or get within the workplaces.”

James wore a shirt strolling into Staples Middle earlier than the sport that stated ”Do you perceive now.” He additionally had it written on his sneakers through the sport. Gamers and coaches from each groups locked arms in a circle at midcourt through the nationwide anthem.

When requested what we meant by his shirt, James stated he needs folks to know what athletes and Black individuals are saying.

”You’ll by no means perceive the sensation of being a black man and girl in America,” James stated. ”Do you perceive how exhausting it’s to proceed to encourage and provides all the things we bought? Everybody jumps on the bandwagon of what we offer, what we convey. How we gown, our music, our tradition, our meals. Everybody steals from what we do after which they need to act like we did it or introduced it to this world. We do not get our due diligence or something again to his nation besides a slap within the face.”

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Tuesday’s determination by a prosecutor in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to not convey expenses in opposition to the officer who shot Jacob Blake, drew ire all through the NBA. Blake’s taking pictures was one in all many social points gamers targeted on final summer time when play resumed within the Orlando, Florida, bubble.

James has remained a critic of Trump throughout his 4 years in workplace and stated that what occurred on the U.S. Capitol was a direct correlation of what Trump represents.

”He would not care about this nation or his household. We noticed the tweets alongside the entire path to this destruction. Over the past 4 years all of us knew,” he stated. ”One factor you’ll be able to by no means get again is time. We have actually simply (thrown) away 4 years.”

”Yesterday was shameful. We’re purported to be setting an instance for all different nations on easy methods to run issues and alter the world and yesterday we seemed like a third-, fourth-, fifth-world nation. It was embarrassing.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who additionally hasn’t held again in expressing his views about President Trump, stated he believed Trump loved Wednesday’s rebellion.

”I consider with all my coronary heart that Trump loved it,” Popovich stated 90 minutes earlier than tipoff. ”They talked concerning the police and the way straightforward it was and the limitations have been pulled they usually simply walked proper in. That does not occur except there is a wink and a nod someplace. That simply would not occur. It is by no means occurred at any protest anyone’s ever been to.

”That is why I do not assume it is so far fetched for folks to begin speaking concerning the twenty fifth modification. We all know it in all probability will not occur.”

Popovich additionally took time to laud James, calling him an ”iconic determine.”

”As a human being and citizen and somebody who seems to be on the social problems with our time, he would not do it with hate. He simply tells the reality,” Popovich stated of James.