LeBron James: The NFL owes Colin Kaepernick an apology

Earlier this month, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued an apology for behalf of the league, acknowledging that they didn't do enough to listen to players when they were kneeling during the national anthem. But LeBron James says that the NFL owes Colin Kaepernick an official apology due to the quarterback being left out of the league since 2016.

"As far as the NFL, I’m not in those locker rooms, I’m not with those guys, but I do understand that an apology — I have not heard a true, official apology to Colin Kaepernick on what he was going through and what he was trying to tell the NFL and tell the world about why he was kneeling when he was doing that as a San Francisco 49er," James said. "I just see that to still be wrong. Now they are listening some, but I still think we have not heard that official apology to a man who basically sacrificed everything for the better of this world."

Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem at the start of the 2016 season to protest police brutality. His protest was largely disliked among NFL ownership and it turned out to be his last season in the league. James also spoke about the contrast between the NFL and the NBA, noting that commissioner Adam Silver has given basketball players the freedom to use their platform to speak about issues that matter to them.

"One thing I can speak for is what I’m apart of," James said. "I’m a part of a league with a great commissioner in Adam Silver and he’s always listened to the voices of his players and I’ve always respected him for that. He’s given us an opportunity that when we feel something that’s very wrong with society, that’s very wrong with what’s going on in our communities, that we can speak upon that and use the NBA’s shield to back us and I have nothing but respect for Adam Silver."