Professional athletes have a big platform and a growing number of them are using it to
protest police violence. The Sunday after a grand jury's decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Michael Brown, five members of the St. Louis Rams went onto the field with their hands up. Now, following a different grand jury's decision not to indict New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the killing of Eric Garner, those Rams have company in using their time on television to make a statement, with most focusing on Garner's last words, "I can't breathe."
Guard Davin Joseph wrote the words on the cleats he wore during pregame warmups before the Rams beat the Washington Redskins 24-0. Tight end Jared Cook had it written on his wrist tape. Receiver Kenny Britt had several names — including Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin — written on his blue and gold cleats. The names were of black men or teens whose deaths led to protests. [...]
Players at other NFL games expressed similar sentiments. Detroit Lions running back Reggie Bush had "I Can't Breathe" written in black across his blue warmup shirt. Browns cornerback Johnson Bademosi wrote the message on the back of the shirt he wore before a game in Cleveland.
In the NBA, Bulls point guard Derrick Rose
warmed up in a shirt saying "I can't breathe, drawing
support from teammates and from Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, who said he was
looking for a similar shirt and might wear one to a game.