LOS ANGELES — The nearly 20 players stood side by side near center court. Behind them, 20 more players did the same thing.
Every player on the Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers then performed one uniform gesture. They locked arms together during the national anthem before a recent preseason game at Staples Center.
Since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started kneeling during the anthem before games during the NFL preseason, other pro, college and high school athletes have followed with their own gestures to protest social injustice, specifically police brutality against unarmed black people.
The Lakers huddled in recent weeks and brainstormed how they would protest with one specific goal in mind.