Politics and the sports world have crossed paths in recent weeks, as President Donald Trump recently made a comment about NFL players that were kneeling during the National Anthem in protest of social injustice and police brutality towards American Americans.
Trump also had some comments for Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, uninviting them to the White House after Curry had already said that he didn’t plan on going.
The recent comments of Trump has led to many athletes and people in the sports world speaking out in favor of their fellow athletes protesting the issues that the country is facing in today’s world.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka was among those that spoke out on Monday at Lakers Media Day, saying that he wants the Lakers players to be able to express their views and their first amendment rights to be respected:
“What we stand for here is the absolute protection of first amendment rights… We want to create a forum here where our players can express their views and be respectfully listened to.”
It will be interesting to see what form of protest NBA players take this season once games get started, but one thing that is for sure is that there will be something as many players like LeBron James and Curry, and even head coaches like Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich have already spoken out on the issues.
The Lakers first take the court this Saturday when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Honda Center in Anaheim. They begin the regular season on Oct. 19 against the Los Angeles Clippers.