When Derrick Rose wore an “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirt during warmups Saturday night, it touched a nerve with fans and fellow NBA players.
LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and various members of the Brooklyn Nets followed Rose’s lead Monday night.
Rose says in addition to showing support for the late Eric Garner and his family, he’s hoping that his actions affect his own son and other kids around the U.S.
Per the Chicago Tribune:
“I’m just happy that people paid attention to it,” Rose said. “I think it touched a lot of people because I grew up in an impoverished area like that. And sometimes (police brutality) happens. […] Usually I stay out of politics and police brutality. I’m not saying all cops are bad or anything. I’m just saying that what happened them days was uncalled for and I think it hurt a lot of people. It hurt the nation.”
“I saw it every day,” he said. “Not killing or anything, but I saw the violence every day and just seeing what can happen. If anything, I’m just trying to change the thoughts of the kids’ minds across the nation. I know what they’re thinking right now. I was one of them kids. […] When you live in an area like that and you don’t got any hope and police are treating you any way — I’m not saying all police are treating kids bad — but it gives you another reason to be bad. My biggest concern is the kids and making sure my son grows up in a safe environment.”
“That’s one of the reasons I wore the shirt. I’m a parent now,” he said. “Two years ago, I probably wouldn’t have worn the shirt. But now that I’m a dad, it changed my outlook on life, period. […] I don’t want my son growing up being scared of police or even have the thought in his mind that something like that could happen. I have a cousin, that easily could’ve been him or one of our relatives. It’s sad that people lost their lives.”
