Silver to Yahoo: Yes on players' social commentary, no on uniforms
As NBA superstars Derrick Rose and LeBron James appear to be starting a movement of “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts as part of pregame warmups, league commissioner Adam Silver responded with a message that social commentary shouldn’t include league uniforms.
"I respect Derrick Rose and all of our players for voicing their personal views on important issues, but my preference would be for players to abide by our on-court attire rules," Silver told Yahoo Sports in an email on Monday night.
Silver was courtside at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and witnessed Cleveland Cavaliers stars LeBron James and Kyrie Irving wearing the T-shirts in response to a New York grand jury failing to bring charges against a police officer in the death of Eric Garner. The arrest of Garner, an African-American man, was caught on tape as the officer placed him in a chokehold despite repeated pleas of "I can't breathe," heard on tape.
Rose wore the "I Can't Breathe," shirt in warmups of the Bulls game on Sunday in Chicago.
