Kemba Walker 'salutes' WNBA players for making a stand

Charlotte @Hornets guard @KembaWalker is ready to use his platform to stop injustice. https://t.co/v1sbvcxYuK pic.twitter.com/3CO6odpr3D

— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) July 26, 2016

Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker praised WNBA players for making a stand on the recent deaths due to gun violence in the United States.

In a piece he wrote for The Players' Tribune, Walker said:

"When faced with fines and criticism, they didn’t back down. They doubled down. When things got tough, those players held their ground.

I see you, and salute you — especially my fellow UConn alums Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Kiah Stokes and Diana Taurasi."

Here is a part of Walker's piece, via The Players' Tribune:

"There is strength in numbers. And the more of us who speak up and use this platform we’ve been given to help drive change, the more difficult it will be for these injustices to continue. When you have more and more professional athletes standing for a cause, it gives other athletes, and other people around the globe, more confidence to do the same. You realize you’re not in this alone, and that’s empowering. We all see that. It means something. 

Recently, many WNBA players used their platform to call attention to the issue of racial bias in America. They wore T-shirts that weren’t sanctioned by the league and staged media blackouts. When faced with fines and criticism, they didn’t back down. They doubled down. When things got tough, those players held their ground. 

I see you, and salute you — especially my fellow UConn alums Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Kiah Stokes and Diana Taurasi. 

At the end of the day, we’re all in this together. We’re all working toward the same thing: change. And as athletes, we have the opportunity to drive change more than most."

Respect to the fam @KembaWalker #bleedblue https://t.co/1ETtKGV7sL

— Swin Cash (@SwinCash) July 26, 2016

Walker added that as athletes, they should always make a stand regarding important social issues because doing so makes a difference.

"Sports history is filled with examples of athletes who have refused to remain silent in the face of injustice. From Muhammad Ali to Tommie Smith and John Carlos to Jim Brown to Billie Jean King — we’ve seen what it looks like when athletes push for social change. 

What we say, and — make no mistake about it — what we do, matters."

You can read Walker's full piece here.