TAMPA, Fla. — Shortly after the Milwaukee Bucks declined to play in Game 5 of the playoffs Wednesday night, the rest of the NBA's games on Wednesday were postponed.
The sports world called for social justice once again.
"It's beautiful watching the NBA now where they have Breonna Taylor's name on their back and just equality on their back," Anthony Lawrence said.
Lawrence is the basketball coach for Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg. He says these aren't the NBA's first protests for equality and he doesn't think they'll be the last.
"To see these things that are happening now on video, I think that things are coming to a head and we're in the midst of a change," Lawrence said.
But change isn't coming easy. Lawrence is talking about the latest shooting of an unarmed black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
29-year-old Jacob Blake is in the hospital paralyzed from the waist down, after police say an officer shot him in the back 7 times.
People from across the country are now protesting, demanding justice once again.
"People have to protest, but one thing that gets me is why should we have to protest? Things should be equal constitutionally. In the constitution it's written that all men are created equal, but that's not whats happening. That has never happened in this country. It's always been a fight," Lawrence said.
That's why he is always pushing his players to their full potential.
"The first message that I always push to my players is do the right thing. Don't be scared to step up and do the right thing," Lawrence said.
For years stars like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and boxing legend Muhammad Ali fought for social justice, paving the way for today's young athletes to have their own voice.
"They did it first and they made some changes during their time," Lawrence said.
Now Lawrence hopes his athletes will do the same.
"It may not be in our lifetime where we see change, but we're gonna breed more, LeBron James' to come up, step out, and lead. To say that this is wrong. Let's step out and say something," Lawrence said.
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