This from Schooled in Sports:
Photo: Miami Heat players pose in hoodies in honor of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Fla. student who was recently gunned down while wearing a hoodie. (Photo via LeBron James' twitter handle, @KingJames)
The shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Fla. student, has caught the nation's attention in recent weeks, in no small part due to the power of social media.
[Friday] LeBron James and the rest of his Miami Heat teammates got involved.
Right before 1:30 p.m. ET, James tweeted out the picture above, of him and his teammates all draped in hoodies, in honor of Martin, who was wearing a hoodie when he was shot on Feb. 26. Along with the picture, James tweeted the hashtags #WeAreTrayvonMartin, #Hoodies, #Stereotyped, and #WeWantJustice.
Sources told The Palm Beach Post that James had been trying to organize the photo with teammates for a few days.
James' teammate, Dwyane Wade, had tweeted a picture of himself draped in a hoodie earlier Friday, with the hashtags #hoodies, #stereotype, and #trayvonmartin.
Wade told the Associated Press that he posted the picture because, "as a father, it hits home."
President Barack Obama made similar comments earlier Friday, too.
"You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," President Obama said in a news conference, according to the New York Times.
"When I think about this boy, I think about my own kids," the president said.
Photo: Miami Heat players pose in hoodies in honor of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Fla. student who was recently gunned down while wearing a hoodie. (Photo via LeBron James' twitter handle, @KingJames)
3 comments:
All the money and media attention they get and this is what they decide to try to make a statement about and this is the best they can do? Wonder how much time these guys spend in Dade County using their influence to really help kids?
It is an unfortuante incident, but where are these guys making their symbolic statements when other kids are harmed or kids are the ones who do the killing? Why this one? Like so many incidents which catch and inflame the media/public attention, I think we will find out that what actually occurred was not what is being portrayed by some who have an agenda well beyond simply seeking the truth or justice.
Certainly the review of deadly force should be closely examined and charges filed if there was a criminal act, but lets not elevate this kid into something he wasn't. Reports now are that he had just been suspended for possible drug possession and when confronted on private property he attacks (hits and breaks the nose) an adult who has contacted the police to seek their assistance. This doesn't have anything to do with hoodies or racial stereotypes. Coincidentally do you think they would be wearing a jacket or hat like the adult if instead he had been beaten to death?
Double standard goes both way folks.
I thought the current mantra of NBA players was to declare that they were not role models for our youth - what's up with this? These guys want to make a statement about violance toward black youths they need to collectively employ their financial and public identity in something a little more tangible than a single picture of them all wearing hoodies. Enough symbolism, the kids need substance.
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