LeBron James wore 'Do You Understand Now?' shirt to Thursday's game; James: "If those were my kind storming the Capitol, what would have been the outcome? And I think we all know"; James again critical of President Trump
Friday 8 January 2021 10:04, UK
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James thinks events in Washington on Wednesday showed that there are "two Americas".
A violent mob professing loyalty to President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol to delay the process, as Congress attempted to certify the result of November's election - in which Trump was defeated by President-elect Joe Biden.
James watched on television as the shocking events took place - and then, in the wake of Thursday's defeat to San Antonio Spurs, he intimated that the rioters may not have been treated the same way if more black people had been involved.
"We live in two Americas and a prime example of that was yesterday," said the perennial All-Star.
"If you don't understand or see that, then you need to take a step back. Not just one step but four or five or even 10 steps backward.
"If those were my kind storming the Capitol, what would have been the outcome? And I think we all know.
"There's no ifs, ands or buts - we already know what would've happened to my kind if anyone would have even got close to the Capitol, let alone storm inside the offices, inside the hallways."
James wore a shirt as he walked into the arena which read 'Do You Understand Now?' and also had it written on the trainers he wore during the game.
He added: "You will never understand the feeling of being a black man and woman in America.
"Do you understand how hard it is to continue to inspire and give everything we got?
"Everyone jumps on the bandwagon of what we provide, what we bring. How we dress, our music, our culture, our food.
"We don't get our due diligence or anything back, except a slap in the face."
James was angered by Trump's election and has remained a critic of the President, who he blames for Wednesday's ugly scenes.
"The events that took place yesterday were a direct correlation of the president that's in the seat right now - of his actions, his beliefs, his wishes," said James.
"We saw the tweets along the whole path to this destruction.
"Over the last four years, we all knew.
"One thing you can never get back is time. We've literally just [thrown] away four years."
