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Durant on 'I can't breathe' movement: 'I just want what's right for our whole country'

Derick E. Hingle / USA Today Sports

Anyone who watched Kevin Durant's MVP speech last season knows the man isn't short on earnestness. 

As one of the NBA's most recognizable faces, Durant was naturally asked to weigh in on the league's "I can't breathe" T-shirt movement - a push for awareness about the choking death of Eric Garner at the hands of a police officer (who will not stand trial), and a show of support for Garner's family.  

Durant, while acknowledging he wasn't all the way versed on the ins and outs of the situation, supported his peers in their decision to make a statement and stand up for a cause they feel strongly about. 

"I feel as though I really took my hat off to guys," Durant said Tuesday night, according to NBA.com's Fran Blinebury. "Derrick Rose, who started it off, and then the Brooklyn Nets and then the Cavs, who stand up for what they believe in. That’s what I’m always about, even though sometimes it may make people uncomfortable.

"Those guys stood up for what they believe in. I felt as a citizen first, I was a little confused about the whole deal. Obviously I didn’t know the facts about everything. I just want what’s right for our whole country. That’s what I’m about: helping everybody uniting. So I’m gonna try to do my part here individually every single day as a man and go from there."

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, who wore the T-shirts on Monday night in Brooklyn, will be in Oklahoma City when their Cavaliers take on Durant and the Thunder on Thursday night. 

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