Rumors

LeBron James: "Knowing the history of the game, knowing the ones that came before you, knowing the ones that paved the way, knowing the reason why you're actually having the ability to live out your dream—that doesn't happen without the people that came before you. It doesn't happen without Bill Russell, going through what he went through during the Civil Rights Movement and all those things. Oscar Robertson dealing with what he had to deal with during those times. It does not happen if they're able to just be pure and who they are, that allows us now to perform and do it with no care."

YouTube

“I grew up around my great aunt who lived to 107 years old,” Murray, 27, told Andscape before a 109-99 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. “She witnessed that time [in the Civil Rights Movement]. Playing on MLK Day means a lot, just knowing his message that he was trying to push. Basically, that message is believing in yourself. Don’t allow nobody else to tell you what you can or cannot be and don’t be afraid to speak your mind.”

Andscape

Joe Biden: From a childhood in segregated Louisiana to a career playing on the biggest stages in sports at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Bill faced the hostility and hate of racism embedded in every part of American life. Yet, he never gave up. Throughout his life, he forced us to confront hard truths. And on this day, there are generations of Americans who are reflecting on what he meant to them as someone who played for the essential truth that every person is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.

whitehouse.gov

Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said the first time he met Lewis, he was so emotional shaking Lewis' hand "because it was such an important life event for me." "John Lewis' stature in the Civil Rights Movement was gigantic and the example he set for people like myself will endure," Abdul-Jabbar tweeted. "I'm glad that he got to see the efforts of his past 60 years of activism bear such precious fruit these last few months as people took to the streets, just as he had, to fight for a just and free America."

ESPN