LeBron James & Fellow LA Lakers Wear Fake MAGA Hats As Nod To Breonna Taylor
Image via Jamie Lamor Thompson / Shutterstock.com
For LeBron James, fashion is more of a silent statement than it is about the aesthetics. Back in 2014, the basketball icon stepped out in a shirt reading “I Can’t Breathe” in response to the death of Eric Garner after he was illegally placed on chokehold by a New York police officer, who got away with the crime unscathed. James chillingly revived the image in 2020 after George Floyd uttered the same words under the control of a Minneapolis cop.
Although Floyd’s unjust demise had “Black Lives Matter” echoing throughout the world, this progress is only a small step in a long fight. Floyd’s death also propelled the name of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician who was fatally shot by Louisville police officers in March, to headlines.
No matter which camp you fall in, the MAGA hat is bound to get your attention. So on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers made their appearance for their playoff game against the Portland Trail Blazers wearing identical red hats that resembled ‘Make America Great Again’ headwear at first glance, but were really a statement urging to bring justice to Taylor.
On the hats, part of the phrase, “Make America Great Again,” was crossed out to read, “Make America Arrest the Cops Who Killed Breonna Taylor.”
Taylor’s family members related that the Louisville Metro Police Department cops who shot her—Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove—did not identify nor explain themselves when they broke down her apartment’s door and forced a search warrant on Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker.
Walker shot once at the police, who responded by firing at Taylor at least eight times.
One of the officers, Hankison, was dismissed by the police department in June, but the other two have retained their jobs. None of them have been charged for Taylor’s death.
[via Bleacher Report, images via various sources]
Also check out these recent news
