NBA players stood in solidarity for Eric Garner during Monday night’s Cleveland Cavaliers-Brooklyn Nets game at the Barclays Center arena in Brooklyn, N.Y. LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and most of the Nets players wore Garner's last words across their chests. The T-shirts have been worn in response to the grand jury decision not to indict the officer who put Garner into a fatal choke hold.
During the warm-up session, Irving was the first player to reveal his T-shirt, followed by James. Over the weekend, James stated that he wanted a shirt similar to the one Derrick Rose wore during his last game.
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"This is more of a motion to the family more than anything," James said. "As a society, we have to do better. We have to be better for one another, no matter what race you are. But it's more of a shoutout to the family more than anything. They're the ones that should be getting all the energy and effort."
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According to the New York Daily News, Nets guard Jarrett Jack delivered the T-shirts after he heard that James was looking for one.
"I just know how difficult it can be on the road; you don't have access to things that you wouldn't normally have, especially in the moment," Jack said. "I just want to lend a helping hand because it's not a black or white issue; it's an equality issue, it's a people issue. So that was kind of my standpoint."
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As the players were preparing for the game inside Barlays Center, outside the arena hundreds of people were chanting, "I can't breathe." The New York City Police Department formed barricades around the protesters as some lay on the ground. For the last several days since the ruling was handed down, protests have been held not only in New York City but also across the country.