Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James won the 'Jackie Robinson' award.
ESPN reported Friday that James was awarded the Jackie Robinson Award by the American College Sports Association (NCAA). James was awarded a prize before his home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on the day.
"To be able to walk and talk and say things that matter to me and hope that there is going to be change, he did it at a time where he wasn't even allowed. People said he wasn't allowed to speak up; you're not allowed to stand for what you believe in. You're not allowed because, these are the rules and this is how it was going to be. I just think he had a much bigger calling and obviously like I said I can sit here and be free and play the game I love, to be able to inspire so many people that's going to come after me, so it's a true honor. It's a true honor for guys like Jackie and Muhammad [Ali] to just have that vision, and if they was here today you could sit and talk to them and I guarantee it wasn't about them. It was about everybody that was going to come after them. That's pretty much it. I could speak about it for a long time, actually, but that's pretty much it."
The award was given to an active sports player who was named after Jackie Robinson, who joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 (now the Los Angeles Dodgers) and became the first black major leaguer.
Last year, James made comments on various social issues, and during the US presidential election, he actively promoted voting for blacks and young people.