LeBron James on Colin Kaepernick: 'I stand with Kap, I kneel with Kap'

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — LeBron James praised Colin Kaepernick a day after the quarterback and Kaepernick's former teammate Eric Reid settled their joint collusion grievance with the NFL.

“I hope it’s a helluva lot of money that could set not only him up but set his family up, set his grandkids up for the rest of their lives," James said Saturday during the NBA’s All-Star weekend. “And I hope that the word of what he did will live on throughout American history but also world history because it’s important for all of us, not only the African Americans but for everybody that wants to stand up for something that’s more important than them."

Kaepernick, who has yet to play since the end of the 2016 season, and Reid argued the owners had colluded against them because the players kneeled in protest of social injustice and police brutality during the national anthem.

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Kaeperick’s kneeling triggered a wave of protests during the 2017 season.

“I think it’s important to stick up for what you believe in, you what I’m saying?" James said. “I think with Kap, I stand with Kap, I kneel with Kap. 

“I just feel what he was talking about no one wanted to listen to. Nobody ever really wanted to understand where he was actually coming from. I think that anybody that would sacrifice their livelihood for the betterment of all of us, I can respect that and he’s done that.

“I mean, you got a guy who basically lost his job because he wanted to stand for something that was more than just him."

James also reflected on the reaction a year ago when Fox News host Laura Ingraham said of James after the NBA superstar criticized President Trump, “It's always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball," she said. "Keep the political comments to yourselves. ... Shut up and dribble." 

James later used “Shut Up and Dribble" for a three-part documentary about the NBA that aired on Showtime.

“I knew at that moment I was bigger than just basketball and I had to say something," he said of Ingraham’s comments. “Because it wasn’t just about me. It was about all of us.

“They’ll be telling you guys to just shut up and write, and you guys not having a platform. Or just shut up and be a doctor, or just shut up and be a lawyer, or just shut up and be a teacher, or just shut up and do whatever your occupation is. And I just think that’s unfair to all of us because I think we are so much more than what our occupation says or what our name tag says. 

“So for me to be able to have this platform, as I did one year ago, for me to be able to have that feeling throughout my body when I heard that, I think it has not only resonated with me but it has resonated with a lot of people to be able to feel like they can be more."