(OBSERVER photo by Antonio R. Harvey)
NORTH NATOMAS — First it was LeBron James, followed by Kobe Bryant, and then Rudy Gay and the Sacramento Kings emerged with “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirts during pregame warmups of the their game against the Houston Rockets on Dec. 11.
Gay, Reggie Evans, Ray McCallum, Ryan Hollins, Ramon Sessions, Jason Thompson, Ben McLemore, and Nik Stauskas were among the Kings that wore the black t-shirts with white lettering moments before tipoff.
The social gesture was done in support of Eric Garner, who was allegedly killed by a chokehold by a Long Island, New York police officer.
“Collectively, we are just supporting a movement. Obviously, It’s a touchy situation that a lot of people know about,” said Thompson, who has spent his entire career in Sacramento. “It was something we were thinking about and thought it was a good idea to do.”
A grand jury decided not to indicted the officer in Garner’s death. But the issue, as well as the shooting death of Eric Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, has sparked protests across the nation and around the world. A few Professional athletes in the NFL and NBA have joined the chorus.
The Kings ended up losing to the Rockets 113-109 in overtime at Sleep Train Arena in front of 16, 676 fans and on a nationally televised game played on TNT.
Darren Collison had 24 points and seven rebounds and Ben McLemore added 21 points for the Kings (11-12). Rudy Gay had 13 points eight assists, and eight rebounds for Sacramento.
James Harden had 44 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets (17-5). The game ended 95-95 in regulation, but Harden scored nine unanswered points to open extended play and Houston never look back.
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By OBSERVER Staff Writer
Antonio R. Harvey