NBA News & Rumors: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving Wear 'I Can't Breathe Shirts'

During the warmup session of the Cleveland Cavaliers prior to the game against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving decided to wear "I Can't Breathe" T-shirts to express their support to Eric Garner, who died last July during a confrontation with an officer of the New York Police Department.

The text on the shirt, according to USA Today, were the last words of Garner whose ordeal was also captured on video and sparked national outrage and debates.

"I think it's really important that we show our respect to the families. More importantly we're in the city where tragedy happened and it's really important to us that we stand up for a cause, especially this one. It hits close to home and means a lot to me," Irving told USA Today.

The Cavs player said that he decided to wear the shirt two days ago when he saw Nets' Jarret Jack sporting it. "I was in contact with Jarrett Jack and I was like I want one of those shirts and I'm going to wear it."

Irving also explained why he decided to wear the shirt. "Obviously everyone has their own emotions towards this and what's going on. That's all that matters. It's just personal."

An AFP report published on Yahoo Sports said that the "I Can't Breathe" protests started "to ask for justice for black men who died at the hands of white policemen" especially now that a grand jury ruled that the officer responsible for Garner's death will not be charged.

"I think more or less the condolences go out to the families. That's the most important thing. Things happen within the world that you can't necessarily control but for me standing up and taking it as my own and being a part of something bigger than myself," Irving added in the USA Today article.

For his part, James wanted to send a clear message, that's why he opted to wear the shirt.

"This is more of a notion to the family more than anything. As a society we have to do better. We have to be better for one another no matter what race you are. But it's more of a shoutout to the family more than anything because they're the ones who should be getting the energy and effort," James added, as noted by USA Today.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed his support on the gesture of the players saying it is the players' rights to free speech but noted that he could have done it in a different way.

"I respect Derrick Rose and all of our players for voicing their personal views on important issues, but my preference would be for players to abide by our on-court attire rules," Silver was quoted by NBC Sports as saying.