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Bryant, Lakers In 'I Can't Breathe' Shirts In Warmup

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant showed their support Tuesday night for those protesting police brutality nationwide with "I Can't Breathe" T-shirts.

Nearly all of Bryant's teammates wore the black T-shirts during pre-game warmups at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

The Lakers each had the T-shirts on their chairs in their dressing room before the game.

Via Twitter, Bryant could be seen donning the shirt right before tipping off. Every player except backup center Robert Sacre wore the shirts.

Bryant and the Lakers followed the lead of LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Kevin Garnett and other athletes across American sports by wearing the shirts to support the family of Eric Garner.

Garner died July 17 after a police officer in New York placed him in a chokehold while he was being arrested. A recording of Garner's arrest showed him gasping "I can't breathe" during the fatal encounter, and thousands have protested a grand jury decision not to indict the officer.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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