LeBron James responds to Ahmaud Arbery killing, says black Americans being 'hunted'

Tom Gatto

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LeBron James responds to Ahmaud Arbery killing, says black Americans being 'hunted' image

LeBron James said Wednesday on Twitter that black Americans are constantly "hunted," a response to the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery near his Brunswick, Ga., neighborhood. 

The Lakers superstar made his thoughts known a day after video of Arbery's killing was posted online. (WARNING: Violent images in the linked video.)  

Arbery, 25, was fatally wounded Feb. 23 after struggling with one of the men in the video. Police identified the men as Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis McMichael, 34. According to police, the elder McMichael saw Arbery jogging and thought he matched the description of a man suspected in several recent area break-ins. McMichael and his son got into a truck and began tailing Arbery.

The New York Times reported that, according to a 911 call, Arbery was seen inside a house that was under construction in the McMichaels' neighborhood.

The McMichaels are seen on video eventually stopping Arbery, who was shot after a physical confrontation with the younger McMichael.

MORE: Reactions in 2016 to Sterling, Castile deaths

The elder McMichael is a retired county police officer and district attorney's investigator in the Brunswick area.

Neither McMichael was arrested, but the prosecutor handling the case announced this week that a grand jury will get to decide whether the two should be charged. Evidence may not be heard for at least another month, however; grand juries in Georgia cannot meet until at least June 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic, USA Today and The New York Times noted.

James has spoken out (and made gestures) in the past about other highly publicized killings of black Americans, including: Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., outside Orlando; Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., outside St. Louis; Tamir Rice in Cleveland; Eric Garner in New York; Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., and Philando Castile outside Minneapolis.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.