Because the nation celebrates the reminiscence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Invoice Russell invoked the civil rights icon Monday in a plea for motion within the aftermath of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
The N(BA) legend tweeted a message on MLK Day quoting King in a name for accountability for President Donald Trump for his function in inciting his supporters to march on the Capitol earlier than they ransacked the constructing in an assault that claimed 5 lives.
Russell framed his message as a matter of “good vs. evil” and quoted a passage from a sermon King delivered in New York in 1956.
‘Good vs. evil’
Right here’s fuller context from King’s sermon on the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
“But we need not stop with the glaring examples of the Bible to establish the reality of evil; we need only to look out into the wide arena of everyday life,” King mentioned. “Now we have seen evil in tragic lust and inordinate selfishness. Now we have seen it in excessive locations the place males are keen to sacrifice fact on the altars of their self-interest.
“Now we have seen it in imperialistic nations trampling over different nations with the iron ft of oppression. Now we have seen it clothed within the clothes of calamitous wars which left battlefields painted with blood, stuffed nations with widows and orphans, and despatched males dwelling bodily handicapped and psychologically wrecked. Now we have seen evil in all of its tragic dimensions.”
Russell a longtime advocate of social, racial justice
An 11-time N(BA) champion with the Boston Celtics, Russell has lengthy been a champion of civil rights. He famously labored alongside fellow athletes Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jim Brown on the 1967 Cleveland Summit that helped set the blueprint for Black athletes to harness their platforms to advance social causes.
He urged followers on Monday to contact their representatives in Congress to demand “that they maintain Trump accountable for his actions.”
The place Trump’s impeachment stands
The Home of Representatives impeached Trump final week for a second time within the aftermath of the Capitol siege on a cost of “incitement of insurrection.” Trump fomented a baseless narrative that President-elect Joe Biden didn’t lawfully win November’s presidential election and satisfied a lot of his followers that the election was rigged previous to the assault.
“He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government,” the impeachment article reads. “He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.”
The impeachment cost now goes to the Senate, which can presumably maintain a trial someday after Trump leaves workplace on Wednesday. The Senate may additionally vote to forestall Trump from holding federal workplace once more.
Extra from Yahoo Sports activities:
