LeBron James: Race Factor in Post-’Decision’ Backlash

@TMoney/NBK, of course we talked about some of their transgressions like Jefferson owning countless slaves but we never delved into it as deep as we did on their supposed achievements and triumphs. That’s why I said before that they are made to seem like church going good guys even though the bad outweighed the good in my mind. You never hear that much about Jefferson or Washington owning slaves today, do you?

Alright, its been a while since I opened my mouth about LeBron, but this topic got me to speak up. this may be controversial, but here goes. Yes, I could see race being a factor, because there are always going to be redneck idiots who say stuff like, “Man I hate that coon, all these nigge*s think they got the world by the balls”. There will always be crap like that, but the vast majority of people on this site, and the rest of the U.S. for that matter, hated his ego, and how he put himself up on a pedestal, and now he fans the flames by whining that the hate is because of his skin color. Good try LeBron. Sounds to me like he has been letting Jesse Jackson talk in his ear. I’m white, and I don’t really like Brett Favre anymore because he has done what LeBron is doing, playing the media to increase their his own name. What they did to Vick was racial. The animal rights’ activists had it out for him from day one. If you noticed, the vast majority of people that stood outside the courtroom rooting for his conviction, were white people, that looked at him as a thug and they looked down upon him. Well guess what, Vick got the last laugh, now he’s a starting quarterback again, and a very good one at that. Manning and Brady have plenty of haters, not because they have done anything wrong, but because they chew up the league every Sunday. So I don’t think anybody can say that the entire reason LeBron is hated is because he is a black man. Its because he is a stuck-up, self-promoting, ring chasing quitter who gave up on a city and a franchise who did everything they knew to do to keep him happy, and made sure to make it sting as bad as possible by making sure the world could watch him ditch them. Thats where the hate comes from, like it or not.

NBK, I swear that arguing with you is like talking with a boxer who took too many blows to the head. There you go again with twisting up my words to make it sound hateful, what I meant by “church-going” is that they are portrayed as good and GOD-fearing people not as an insult to actual church goers. You need to chill with the singling out of specific words and turning them into different meanings for your own satisfaction.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!

WHOA! what a freak coincidence. i was reading the latest ish, jtaylor at 115 wasnt up yet. kinda creepy actually.

nope cuz people are hating on Bret Farve the same way, although to a much less extent cuz he didnt pull a BS egotistical Press Conference
had he then he would be right there with you
I’m black and I hate when other black people pull the race card as an excuse for their actions or for why they are in trouble or why people hate them
has nothing to do with you skin color, its the plain fact that your an idiot and we dont like you for your actions or for you, whats wrong with that? some people do judge a man on his actions you know and not his skin color
and considering the NBA is perdominantly black, and alot of the fans of the game reflect that, not all but a good chunk, and they are calling you out and , also some notable black people of your sport are calling you out,so oh yeah its race
race BS, black people have enough problems linked to race as it is, this isnt one of them, now be a man and own up to your mistakes

So basically,what I got out of this is…if you don’t like LeBron James you’re racist?

That’s funny – because I am white, and now view LeBron MORE POSITIVELY after his decision. The Cavs are the lamest franchise in the NBA – look at their history, logos, and crossing-guard outfits. One of the primary reasons I had been a LBJ hater was due to his franchise, and the B.S. politically correct interviews that he does. Until now, he rarely revealed his true feelings on matters. Now he is finally opening up a little bit, and he has a hip new image that bandwagoners cannot grasp. He is a heel now – and he will average 30-10-10 next season and eat your teams alive ))

Someone should play this video to Lebron:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRCyZydgqdc

Get a library card yo!

We(me) are the innovators, they(jtaylor) are the imitators

So I just spent about 2 hours reading all the comments. My useless addition would be this: Lebron was correct, it is naive to assume that there is no one in the country who allowed his skin color to affect their decision. Likewise it is foolish to assume the opposite. I don’t think there’s anyone here who disagrees with this statement.
the disagreements occur only on the severity of the effect that race has played. If you believe that its larger than others, you are right. If you believe it is smaller than others, you are right. That’s the beauty of opinion: we live in a subjective world.
That’s what it all comes down to: everyone has been taught by someone who’s opinion and knowledge they trust, that the world is a certain way. They beleive that person. Then that belief determines how they view the events in the world, using them to support that view initially taught them by the afore-mentioned trusted advisor. As we mature, we learn that the world isn’t quite so simple and we allow other viewpoints into our thoughts, and we mold our opinions from there. this is true of ANY opinion, be it intelligent, ignorant, racist, anti-dentite, or whatever. Otherwise discussion would be useless.
What I don’t get is why so many people become defensive when a black man says that some white people are racist? He’s right, they are. If I’m white, does that mean he’s calling ME a racist? Certainly not – he’s simply sharing his view of the world, and it is in some respects true, perhaps in others not. But we all benefit from the sharing of it. Just for the record, I am white. I am not racist; and I think that many of the points discussed are certainly valid and deserve honest, thoughtful discussion.
…can’t we all just get along?

1998.

The whole idea that the reaction to lebron is centered around a silly Tv special is absurd. I refuse to believe that the same people who have turned reality televison into an entertainment staple are simply pissy with lebron over reality tv. I call bull. lebron is right. Race does play a role. I would also add envy to the list. lebron donates $3 million dollars and people complain that he din’t give away $30 million.Bill Clinton, white man gives away millions of other folks money and he’s heralded as a great giver. But Lebron is selfish. Race has played a role in his career every since he appeared on the cover of sports illustrated, got the Hummer and $100 million shoe deal all in high school.Then Lebron had the nerve not to take his “talents” to the NCAA and make millions for others. White people turned all of that into a moral issue and have been waiting years to tear him down. We’ve seen white people whimpering and whining about T-shirts(well, he was the Mvp), speeding tickets, not shaking hands(Manning can walk off the superbowl field and not shake hands and nary a word is said), and now Lebron who no longer had any obligation morally, or legally, get roasted for once again turning his nose up and not following the script that white people were arrogant enough to write for him. Blacks are suppose to stay in their place and do what their told. They’re not suppose to have any ideas, or aspirations other than what has been laid out before them. Any black person who does not bow before the the so-called taste and values of white people will be attacked at the first opportunity. Any black man who refuses to apologize(by being humble) for his talent that brings success and riches his way is instantly reduced to being a “kid”( a favorite pastime of whites) i.e. he’s too immature and ignorant to know what he whats or needs. Autonomy is evidently only for whites. So Yeah, Lebron has a point.

who cares about race lbj is gonna be running it in miami chillen on the beach all day i would go there too

Oh man! Lebron doesn’t seem to think the hole he has dug for himself is deep enough, and continues to keep digging. Please don’t pull out the race card when it’s not appropriate. It cheapens it’s meaning for those that really need to use it. Just man up! You made a mistake and own up to it!

The most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life. This was completely about how he announced his decision to Cleveland. It was pointless and tasteless, to bring the race card is really messed up.

people forget the three million donation because that wasn’t the point of the show. it was a sidebar to a show titled the decision. it wasn’t titled, findraiser for b&g club. i mean the whole thing was a joke seeing those kids behind lebron. growing up you are taught to be the best, to work hard, and if you’re lucky you’re also taught to work as an indiviual on a team and also as a team member as part on a larger team. we are the 6 billion humanoids in a world where if some of us weren’t selfish or if some of us weren’t cooperative things wouldn’t be done.
so really the points here are:
a)your reaction to lebron’s decision is up to you but THE DECISION ALA ESPN AND MAVERICK CARTER AND THE CREW OF DUMB DUMBS WAS POORLY EXECUTED.
b)lebron was given a leading question which he answered (the question really was a no brainer and he could have responded better, articulated, or avoided it but it was unavoidable)which means he gave a response for the public to reflect on. his mistake is that his response is too vague left in the ether to be dissected, discussed, understood, and even the use of “sometimes” as a qualifier is just really a belated attempt to the specific.
what lebron should have done, if he was going to go there and answer the question and fully comitt to it was give his thoughts and his opinion. i mean that was really a one line response to a question that really deserves a nuanced answer, not a super nuanced, vague, unspecific response. but then he’s an athlete, you would say and this isn’t some sort of documentary or history show where he needs to spend hours explaining. but that’s just the thing. he lives his life. he is black. his ethnicity probably matters to him or else he wouldn’t have grown up how he did and made some of his decisions. lebron james has opinions about race, and sometimes he might let it be known, but most times he’s not someone you think in the sense of having a political standpoint about race or something that matters to him. if he was being asked a serious question, which he was, he should have given a serious response. what i’m saying is that lebron james should have been able to answer that question, right or wrong. what he did was leave a leading question with a wishy washy answer (infact i would have liked him to give reason to his answer is what i’m saying. whether that means he comes harder with his response, names people, puts specifics to his thoughts and ends up hurting some people–even his fans, then so be it, but at least then he is standing on his legs instead of as people are saying, throwing out the “token” race card. it’s understandable how people can see this and take his response all kinds of ways, but i think myles brown, allen p, russ bengston in the other thread about this, and some others make great points) when it would have behoved him to actually say what he really thought, what he really meant at that time, instead of giving a sort of quasi varnished, sealed, unfeeling, rational answer, but not rational enough eh because he really fell off leaving that response to just dangle there and die on the sword of ambiguity.

actually i don’t like the end of adande’s piece. why can’t he accept that people don’t think and lead us all to the golden fountain. is it a good or bad thing (simplistic really) that lebron joined this race conversation and opened the door a bit with his unexpanded response? is this hoopla over his simple comment worth it? am i as a person, comfortable with a discussion about race? especially coming from a guy who’s kept mum about it and seemingly navigated the nba and the wider celebdom and accolades like child’s play–easy gravy–while not standing on a specific standpoint and preaching like how jesse jackson and al sharpton, limbaugh, and all these other guys do? am i angry with lebron for having an opinion, even if he couldn’t specify or expand, and saying it, or am i more pissed off at that bumbling maverick carter? are maverick carter and lerbon james now one and the same or is it their outward appearance that can get confused as being the same people? why was he interviewed by soledad obien and why now?

thanks slam for the forum, thanks for the discussion bball fans, and also to woj and adande, myles brown, bengston, mutoni–slam crew for keeping it all in perspectives.

it’s a story yes, but not a whole circus or hoopla fodder. it’s just one human being who might change the world in a practical way we can all feel and benefit from, or not at all. he’s an athlete. a basketball player. a human. why do we want to put him up on a pedestool…oh maybe because his pr team did a pretty good job, which is all they did back then. it makes you wonder if this is all orchestrated set ups or if they’re going to try and spin it around like they did with this interview, and tbat’s where all the contexts comes in.