LeBron James has become the highest-profile athlete to speak out against Donald Trump’s immigration policy, which is currently being fought over in court.

The Cleveland Cavaliers star spoke to the Hollywood Reporter after he received the NAACP’s Jackie Robinson Award earlier this month. “I am not in favor of this policy or any policy that divides and excludes people,” James said. “I stand with the many, many Americans who believe this does not represent what the United States is all about. And we should continue to speak out about it.”

James has spoken about social issues before. Last year he appeared at the ESPYs and called for an end to gun violence and racial profiling, while in 2014 he appeared in an “I can’t breathe’ T-shirt to pay tribute to Eric Garner, who died after an encounter with New York police.

Warriors' Steve Kerr cites father's terror death to denounce Trump travel ban Read more

In the interview with the Hollywood Reporter, James emphasized that he believed in peaceful protest. “Diversity is what makes this country so great,” said James. “We should all continue to speak up and fight for ideas that bring people together regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs or any other differences.”

Prominent figures in the NBA have spoken out about the travel ban. The league has several high-profile Muslim players as well as representatives from more than 30 countries. “I think [the policy] is shocking. It’s a horrible idea,” the Golden State Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, said last month. “I feel for all the people that are affected. Families are being torn apart, and I worry in the big picture what this means to the security of the world. It’s going about it completely opposite. You want to solve terror, you want to solve crime, this is not the way to do it.”

Perhaps the only other US athletes in the major professional leagues who can rival James’s fame is the New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. In contrast to James, Brady has spoken of his friendship with Trump but has refused to be drawn into a discussion of his policies. At least two of Brady’s team-mates have said they will not attend the White House to celebrate the Patriots’ recent Super Bowl victory.