The "I Can't Breathe" t-shirts started after the New York grand jury decided not to indict Daniel Pantaleo, an NYPD officer who choked Eric Garner to death.
In a report by Ohio.com, Garner was kept in a chokehold by Pantaleo in the summer of 2014 in a neighborhood in Staten Island. Before he died due to suffocation, his last words were, "I can't breathe."
In protest of the jury's decision, Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls was the first to wear the apparel pregame on December 6, 2014. Initially, fans thought that Rose was speaking for himself and the pressure that people put him in for his recurrent injuries.
Bleacher Report wrote that Rose said, "I had the shirt made, my best friend Randall brought it to the game, and I decided to wear it. It wasn't any one [person's] idea, I just thought I wanted to support something that happened. That's what made me wear the shirt."
In a report by Yahoo! Sports, on December 8, LeBron James wore the t-shirt before the Cleveland Cavaliers played against the Brooklyn Nets. Kyrie Irving and other Nets players also wore the same shirts before the game started.
The black t-shirts with bold white caption were handed out to James and Irving by Jarrett Jack, a former Cavs player who currently plays for the Nets.
Irving said in the same report by Ohio.com, "We're in the city where a tragedy happened. It's really important to us that we stand up for a cause, especially this one. It hits kind of close to home and it means a lot to me. ... What happened is a tragedy and I feel terrible about it."
After seeing Rose wear the t-shirt, James wanted one for himself. He said, "It's more a notion to the family than anything. Obviously as a society we have to do better, we have to be better for one another. It doesn't matter what race you are. It's more of a shout out to the family more than anything. They're the ones that should be getting all the energy and effort."
Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner, said about the shirts, "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." There is no word yet whether the players will be fined for violating rules on on-court attire.
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