LeBron James became one of the most hated professional athletes this past summer after he decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join the Miami Heat. But unlike most free agents who sign with new teams and hold a small press conference, James teamed up with ESPN to host a one hour special called “The Decision.”
Although “The Decision” raised $3 million for the Boys and Girls Club of America, James infuriated Cleveland residents and the media took aim at the basketball star for turning his free agent signing into a fiasco.
James jerseys were burned in Cleveland and the Cavs owner Dan Gilbert called James a coward in a heated letter that was released moments after James announced that he was signing with the Heat. The Rev. Jesse Jackson chimed in on Gilbert’s remarks and compared Gilbert’s fury to that of a slave owner who was upset that his slave fled from the plantation.
James opened up about the backlash during a recent interview on CNN with Soledad O’Brien. O’Brien asked James if race played a part in the negative response and he said, “At times, it’s always, you know, a race factor.”
James’ response will bother some white members of the press who will always ostracize black athletes for using race to make an argument. Several prominent media outlets have already criticized James for injecting race into the equation.
Now that James has made that comment, he’s moving away from being viewed as a Michael Jordan-type athlete who never spoke on such issues. He’s now treading in Jim Brown territory. However, if James desires to be viewed as socially conscious as Brown, he can’t speak about race only when it involves his interaction with the media. Like Brown, James must take a stand against the inequalities that occur with minorities who grew up in similar situations that he grew up in.
But in reality, it’s likely that this will be the last time that James speaks about race. It’s hard to be a black revolutionary while chasing one billion dollars.–amir shaw
