Memphis Grizzlies rookie guard Ja Morant is asking a Kentucky judge to remove a Confederate statue near his alma mater in downtown Murray, Kentucky.
Morant, 20, spent two years at Murray State before being selected by the Grizzlies with the second overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft.
"As a young black man, I cannot stress enough how disturbing and oppressive it is to know the city still honours a Confederate war general defending white supremacy and hatred," Morant wrote in a letter Thursday to Judge Kenneth C Imes, per the Paducah Sun.
The statue in question is of Robert E Lee, which was erected in 1917. It sits outside the Calloway County Courthouse.
Multiple Confederate monuments across the United States have been taken down in recent weeks after George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. Floyd, an unarmed black man, was killed when a white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds while making an arrest.
Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.
"Given recent events and the Black Lives Matter movement, it's necessary to act now," Morant wrote. "We can't change the culture of racism unless we change the celebration of racism. Please help us take a stand and remove this symbol of hatred and oppression."