John Wall: Wizards, Mystics Trying to Plan Juneteenth MLK Jr. Memorial March

Washington Wizards guard John Wall said on Caron Butler's The Tuff Juice podcast (around the 15:30 mark) that his team and the Washington Mystics are attempting to put together a plan to march from Capital One Arena to the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on Juneteenth

Juneteenth is the annual June 19 celebration of the end of slavery. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently announced the league will observe it as a holiday, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The killing of George Floyd on May 25 sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd said he could not breathe. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Wall participated in one of the protests in Washington, D.C., and wrote the following on Instagram: "I'm Black and I'm Proud! We Demand Justice. Black Men Matter. Black Women Matter. Black Lives Matter !!"

The Wizards also issued a statement saying they "will no longer tolerate the assassination of people of color in this country," while the Mystics issued a statement that said "We stand against any and all injustice, prejudice, discrimination, police brutality and racism."

Wall previously discussed the fear he feels as a black person in the United States on the Hoops, Adjacent podcast (h/t The Athletic's David Aldridge):

"If I get pulled over right now, I'm terrified. To be realistic. If I'm in a dark area, or a back street, I'm not stopping. I'll go to a high-speed chase to get to a spot where it's a grocery store, or somewhere where's there's a lot of lights at, because that's how terrifying it is. You're telling me if I want to be a black kid to jog in a neighborhood, and I say, 'okay, I want to cut through this white neighborhood, this rich neighborhood,' and then all of a sudden, I'm targeted to get killed? Because I don't belong there? Those are the kind of things I grew up with, like you wouldn't go to this side of town where you wasn't allowed. Why? We breathe the same air."

Wall has been with the Wizards his entire career since they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft.