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LeBron James may have made a subtle political statement on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
The magazine named James—who led the Cleveland Cavaliers, his hometown team, to its first NBA championship title this year—as its Sportsperson of the Year. For the magazine’s cover, James wore a cream turtleneck and jacket, adorned with a safety pin on his right lapel.
After the U.S. presidential election, some Americans—inspired by a similar movement in England after the Brexit vote—began sporting safety pins to show solidarity with minorities, women, immigrants and other groups who felt unsafe in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory. But the practice quickly garnered criticism, with some calling it an empty gesture. “A safety pin is literally one of the most insignificant things one could wear,” Phillip Henry wrote for Mic.
While it’s unclear why James, who has notably spoken out against police violence against the black community, decided to wear the pin on Sports Illustrated‘s cover, the basketball star has made it clear he’s no fan of Donald Trump. He endorsed and campaigned with Hillary Clinton, and has refused to stay at Trump-branded hotels in the days since the election.
James spoke to Sports Illustrated about his activism: “I want it to be more about what I can do to help my community, what we can do so kids feel like they’re important to the growth of America, and not like: ‘These people don’t care about us,’” he said. “I’m not here to stomp on Trump. We’re here to do our part, which starts in the place we grew up, street by street, brick by brick, person by person.”
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Write to Samantha Cooney at samantha.cooney@time.com