Knicks' Dennis Smith Jr. Joins Fayetteville Protest After Death of George Floyd

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

J. Cole and New York Knicks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. joined protests in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while in the custody of Minneapolis police Monday.

Per Ray Sanchez, Joe Sutton and Artemis Moshtaghian of CNN.com, video showed officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee into the back of the neck of Floyd, who told officers that he couldn't breathe and that his body hurt while lying prone on a Minneapolis street. He died at a nearby hospital later that day.

Protests around the country continued Saturday, and numerous athletes have either spoken out and/or taken to the streets nationwide.

In Minneapolis, Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns took part in a protest that also involved ex-NBA star Stephen Jackson, who was good friends with Floyd.

Former NBA player Royce White also led a protest Friday that traversed through Minneapolis.

Ohio State men's basketball player Seth Towns, who recently transferred from Harvard, was detained by police following a peaceful protest.

And many others—including the Washington Mystics' Natasha Cloud and the Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie—penned powerful statements in response to Floyd's death, which continues a line of deaths of unarmed black people that includes Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.