LeBron James & Dwyane Wade: Stand Your Ground Opponents Urge Them to Leave Miami Heat and Protest Florida Law
The president of Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network urged Miami Heat players LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to quit their teams in protest of Florida's Stand Your Ground laws, according to The Washington Times.
"Today is a day the Lord has made to demonstrate to the state of Florida and other states who has passed laws who are bias to black and brown people of this race," said Gene Collins, president of National Action Network's Las Vegas chapter, according to Breitbart News. "We are here also to ask our sports icons LeBron James, Dwyane Wade ... and other professional players in baseball and football to change franchises and play for another franchise until the state of Florida recognizes there has to be change."
Collins also called for athletes on the collegiate level to join the rally to abolish Florida's controversial law.
"We are also asking the collegiate athletes who have signed contracts and who have signed letters of intent to play for various universities to transfer to another university until the governor of the state of Florida calls a special session and changes the laws so that African American males and females, black and brown kids will be safe in the state of Florida," he added.
On March 23 2012, just shy of a month after Trayzon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, LeBron James posted a picture to his Twitter account, which featured the Miami Heat team sporting hoodies. The hoody Trayon Martin was wearing when he was killed became a key talking point, in regards to the profiling of black men in America. Along with the Photo, James included the hashtags, #WeAreTrayvonMartin, #Hoodies #Stereotyped #WeWantJustice.
Dwayne Wade also weighed in on the incident, expressing his shock over the Zimmerman not guilty verdict via Twitter.
"Wow!!! Stunned!!! Saddened as a father!!! Some1 make sense of this verdict for me right now please!!! Don't worry I'll wait..." Wade tweeted on July 13.
Neither Wade nor James has responded to Collins' requests.
