LeBron James ‘not that confident’ his son would ‘return home’ after run-in with cops

NBA star LeBron James used a press conference on Monday to express doubt that his son would survive a future traffic stop with cops.

A conversation on basketball quickly turned political when reporters asked the Cleveland Cavaliers star about police violence and the national anthem protests by NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The NBA Finals champion said that while his son was still just in sixth grade, as a parent he is “not that confident” that a future pullover by police would “go well.”

“It’s a scary thought right now to think, if my son gets pulled over — you tell your kids, ’if you just comply, and you just listen to the police, that [if] they will be respectful things will work themselves out,’” the basketball player said. “And you see these videos that continue to come out, it’s a scary situation. If my son calls me and says he’s been pulled over, that I’m not that confident that things are going to go well, and my son is going to return home. And my son just started sixth grade. So we just want the conversation to continue, to keep going.”

Mr. James added that “not all cops are bad,” and that he respects Mr. Kaepernick’s decision to sit or kneel during the national anthem.

“Me, standing for the national anthem is something I will do. That’s who I am. That’s what I believe in,” Mr. James said. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t respect what Colin Kaepernick is doing. You have the right to voice your opinion, stand for your opinion.”

The player’s comments come against a backdrop of looting, unrest, and protests that have gripped Charlotte, North Carolina, since last week’s shooting of 43-year-old Keith Scoot. An investigation is ongoing into whether officers were justified in using lethal force against the man, who they say brandished a firearm and refused to follow orders when confronted in a parking lot.

A police shooting of 40-year-old Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has also captured national headlines. Mr. Crutcher’s vehicle broke down in the middle of the road when he was approached by officers. Officer Betty Shelby, who shot and killed the man, has been placed on administrative leave.

“That looks like a bad dude too, could be on something,” an officer says in helicopter footage just before the shooting. Police also said he was not following orders.