In saying what he said about the situation in Hong Kong, LeBron James tarnished his reputation as a social progressive.
He stood tall, this King, speaking out most recently in support of college athletes’ quest to get a piece of that huge financial pie called major college sports.
But the questions now are: Who is this guy? Where does he really stand?
There’s no other conclusion to reach. And it’s not only what James said about the NBA-China kerfuffle; it’s also how he framed it. Daryl Morey was ‘misinformed,” LeBron told the media. How so? Morey was expressing an opinion–and opinion, by the way–that’s pro-democratic, something we cherish in this country.
To say that Morey was “misinformed” about the Hong Kong protests means–literally–that LeBron James IS informed. Hardly.
Despite Adam Silver’s attempt to reframe the situation as a free speech issue, James stepped in to make a bad situation worse. But here’s the thing. At its core, the NBA-China back-and-forth is fundamentally about something very basic. The two countries are culturally different. What Morey said about Hong Kong and how the Chinese responded reflect the difference–a profound difference. The cross-cultural gulf cries out for mutual understanding–and mutual understanding could have been the basis for moving forward. Sadly, that didn’t happen.
There’s more to this story, too, including two issues associated with circumstances on the U.S. side that run counter to what James said.
First, Morey isn’t a player as was NFL protester Colin Kaepernick. As an NBA general manager, Morley is part of the NBA establishment. As an executive, Morey took leadership for expressing support for social justice. That’s not only new, but it is refreshing and badly needed. Owners, presidents, and GM’s rarely speak out on social issues, although coaches sometimes do.
Courtesy: ABC News
And when it does happen, it’s sometimes staged. Jerry Jones and other NFL owners knelt with players in the name of social justice, presumably. But it didn’t take long–stimulated by a few well-placed tweets by Trump–for owners to decide that they shouldn’t be seen aligning with Kaepernick and his allies.
Second, by saying just a few words about the NBA-China debate, LeBron James turned his back on the tradition of athletes standing strong for social justice. It’s a long and glorious tradition, too, extending to the days of Jackie Robinson, the ’68 Olympics, Ali’s refusal to serve, and onward to contemporary efforts–with so many of those efforts led by African Americans.
Prominent black athletes gathered in Cleveland in 1967 to discuss social justice.
Today, LeBron James flipped that script. Not only did James tarnish his reputation as a social progressive, but he also depicted the NBA as a profit-seeking corporation that sides with social justice only when it serves the bottom line. That’s a skewed perspective. Over time, the NBA–and its stars and coaches–have demonstrated social leadership in ways that other pro leagues have not.
Shame, James!
This column is absolutely LAUGHABLE. LeBron James stepped up to the plate as a leader among players, athletes of every sport and solidified his place as KING with his bold decision to speak before the national press about the elephant in the room.
Many believe that Darryl Morley’s comments had a racial slant. If there was any confusion, the Brooklyn Nets’ new owner – who is Taiwanese – made it clear with his bluntly worded letter: Asians understand their power.
In the most important sports in the United States – basketball and football – the majority of athletes are Black or of color. The majority of owners are White. There’s a sense that owners feel their players are their property – hence the offensive term “pieces.” Without athletes, the NFL, NBA and NCAA have no product to sell. Black athletes are not longer willing to sit by and be used up and thrown away.
Plus, there’s a global sense of KARMA happening with the Houston Rockets. Look at how Morley and the Rockets execs blackballed Carmelo Anthony. The entire world is now cheering for him to return to the league. The Rockets humiliated him on an international stage. Now the entire NBA is being blackballed as a result of the Rockets ancient attitude.
New rookies are playing very close attention to the disrespect that is happening with Black athletes like Carmelo, Colin Kaepernick, Antonio Brown and even O’Dell Beckham, Jr. They aren’t excited about it. In fact, it’s helping them feel a sense of urgency to ensure that they’re not at the mercy of any team.
Nurturing Black Athletes.comlaunched over the summer to help athletes protect their intellectual property and have more control over their likeness. There’s no more “free rides” for owners seeking to take advantage of players. Thanks to Nurturing Black Athletes (The New NBA), today’s Black athletes are beginning to understand how to maximize their earning potential. They’re learning that every dunk, ever tweet and every content post is content. They’re no longer willing to allow teams to reach past the court into their pockets.
In California, student athletes can now be paid. The trend is growing rapidly thanks in part to a Congressional Hearing on the NCAA and the need to pay athletes. Owners don’t seem to want to share but Black athletes are beginning to realize they’re OUTGROWING the NBA and NFL.
Today’s athletes have more choices than ever before. A student can choose to go to the NCAA, play overseas like LaMelo Ball, Lance Stephenson and Stephon Marbury, go to the Big 3 or the NBA. Consider also that the NBA kicked basketball star Joe Johnson out of the league but he knew he could still play so he accepted Ice Cube’s offer to join the Big 3 where he had epic success. Suddenly, the NBA is recruiting talent from the Big 3. The 2020 Olympics added a new sport – Three on Three basketball. If that wasn’t enough, the Big 3 is having great success with China while the NBA is not.
LeBron’s decision to be a leader will go down as one of the most important decision of his career. Until owners and the sports industry admits it has a racism problem, the league will continue to find itself locked out of what should be a promising future.