On Thursday (July 30), LeBron James and several other players took a knee during the singing of the National Anthem.

During the song, some of the players locked arms while they took a knee. James and several others rocked Black Lives Matter shirts before the game started. The kneeling was done to make a statement about racial inequality amid the ongoing protests in America.

While addressing the political statement, James explained that it wasn’t done as a form of entertainment. “The game of basketball has always been bigger than just a ball and a rim and 10 guys on the floor, four referees,” he explained. “We used this platform to spread a lot of positive, a lot of love throughout the course of the whole world.”

James added that he wanted to make Colin Kaepernick, the former quarterback for the 49ers, proud for his continuous efforts to protest against police brutality and racism. “I hope we continue to make [Kaepernick] proud,” the power forward said. “Every single day I hope I make him proud of how I live my life, not only on the basketball floor, but off the floor. I want to always speak out about things that I feel like are unjust. I always want to be educated on things and always go about it that way.”

“[Kapernick] was someone who stood up when times weren’t comfortable, when people didn’t understand, people refused to listen to what he was saying,” James continued. “If you go back and go look at any of his postgame interviews when he was talking about why he was kneeling, it had absolutely nothing to do about the flag. It had absolutely nothing to do with the soldiers, the men and women that keep our land free.”

More recently, news broke that the LeBron James Family Foundation will offer housing for disadvantaged families. The apartment building is equipped with a laundry room, supply room, outdoor physical area, study room and garden.

Take a look at the players kneeling below.