LeBron James, Lonzo Ball said ‘FREE MEEK’ after Eagles won Super Bowl 52

The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LII in a thrilling, absurd 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots, and the victory turned into another platform for prominent athletes to support incarcerated rapper Meek Mill.

Meek Mill is a Philadelphia native, and his music turned into a rallying cry for the underdog Eagles, who ran onto the U.S. Bank Stadium field Sunday with the rapper’s “Dreams and Nightmares” blaring. Can you blame them? “Dreams and Nightmares” is an iconic album opener. That beat switch is hot enough that it could heat New York City for an entire winter if you hooked it up to the power grid.

Eagles players played Mill’s music after the game, but they also shouted “Free Meek Mill,” a rallying cry for justice.

And they weren’t the only ones.

LeBron James

Karl-Anthony Towns

Towns was on the sideline taking photos for The Player’s Tribune. He was SO HAPPY after the win, it’s melting my heart.

Lonzo Ball

And they did, so …

Isaiah Canaan

Other athletes

Earlier this year, Harden had planned to wear shoes with “FREE MEEK” written on them during a game. Colin Kaepernick also tweeted about Mill’s sentence.

What’s the story behind “FREE MEEK”?

Mill was convicted on drug and gun charges in 2008 when he was 18, and imprisoned. In 2009, he was released with a 10-year probation. In March 2017, Mill was arrested for misdemeanor assault in an incident involving airlines employees requesting photographs, and later that summer was arrested for “reckless endangerment” when popping wheelies on a dirt bike he owned. In November, Mill appeared before court summons and was sentenced to two to four years in federal prison for parole violation.

Mill’s defense says that his 10-year probation was both excessive and atypical in situations like his. “He’s been on probation for nearly 10 years. Nobody goes on probation for 10 years,” Mill’s attorney Joe Tacopina told CNN last November.

CNN also reported that the judge who sentenced Mill went against both the district attorney and parole officer’s wishes.

Tacopina said Brinkley went against the recommendations of the district attorney and Mill’s probation officer, who recommended “no incarceration for technical violations,” and accused Brinkley of “taking an inappropriate personal interest in (Meek Mill) that goes above and beyond her role as a judge.”

Mill is a beloved Philadelphia rapper, but his imprisoning has sparked serious criminal justice reform discussions. In November, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins and former 76ers legend Julius Erving spoke to hundreds of protestors outside of Philadelphia’s Criminal Justice Center in response to Mill’s sentencing.

Mill’s lawyers say they are optimistic that Mill’s sentence can still be reduced or commuted entirely through appeal.