LeBron wears black and white 'Equality' sneakers in D.C. visit

It was a small gesture, but LeBron James wanted to spread a bigger message.

James wore two of his own signature sneakers - one white, one black - in Sunday's win over the Washington Wizards. The word "equality" was stitched across the back of both shoes, and it was no coincidence that James preached that message in his visit to the nation's capital.

"We all know where we are right now, and we know who is at the helm here," James told ESPN's Dave McMenamin after the game when asked about his shoes. "Us as Americans, no matter the skin color, no matter the race, no matter who you are, I think we all have to understand that having equal rights and being able to stand for something and speak for something and keeping the conversation going (is important). ...

"Equality is all about understanding our rights, understanding what we stand for, and how powerful we are as men and women, black or white or Hispanic. It doesn't matter your race, whatever the case may be, this is a beautiful country and we're never going to let one person dictate how beautiful and how powerful we are."

James has criticized President Donald Trump on multiple occasions, most notably when he called him a "bum" after Trump lashed out at Stephen Curry for not wanting to visit the White House.

While wearing the contrasting sneakers, James picked up his third straight triple-double. He finished with 20 points, 12 assists, and 15 rebounds in the 106-99 win over the Wizards.