Vanessa Bryant Posts Photo of Kobe Wearing ‘I Can’t Breathe’ Shirt, Shares Powerful Message About George Floyd’s Death

Vanessa Bryant shared a powerful message about spreading love and fighting for change in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

Over the weekend, the 38-year-old addressed Floyd’s killing and the ongoing protests by posting a throwback photo of her late husband, Kobe Bryant, wearing a t-shirt that read “I Can’t Breathe.”

“My husband wore this shirt years ago and yet here we are again.💔#ICANTBREATHE” Vanessa captioned the photo, above. “Life is so fragile. Life is so unpredictable. Life is too short. Let’s share and embrace the beautiful qualities and similarities we all share as people. Drive out hate. Teach respect and love for all at home and school.”

“Spread LOVE. Fight for change — register to VOTE,” she continued. “Do not use innocent lives lost as an excuse to loot. BE AN EXAMPLE OF THE CHANGE WE WANT TO SEE. #BLACKLIVESMATTER ❤️”

When the photo of Kobe was taken in 2014, the NBA star and the Los Angeles Lakers wore the shirt to make a statement about the horrific death of Eric Garner, a Black man who died in July 2014 after being held in a chokehold by a police officer in Staten Island, New York. Garner’s last words were captured on video: “I can’t breathe.”

Similarly, Floyd — 46-year-old Black man who died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes in Minneapolis, Minnesota last Monday — also said he wasn’t able to breathe.

Video captured the police officer, Derek Chauvin, with his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes during Floyd’s arrest for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd was unresponsive when paramedics arrived and was later pronounced dead.

Chauvin was arrested on Friday and faces 3rd-degree murder and manslaughter charges. He and three other officers were fired in connection with Floyd’s death.