NFL
By: Zach Draves
Apparently COVID, economic hardship, and white supremacy aren’t major concerns for a certain segment of the American population.
It seems as though what keeps them up at night apparently is LeBron James.
All the man is doing is continuing the great tradition of athlete activism in his own way and putting his money where his mouth is.
Whether it is the creation of his I Promise School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, or his recent More than A Vote Initiative to combat the real problem of voter suppression.
(Courtesy: Business Insider)
(Courtesy: Yahoo Sports)
It is also worth mentioning that More than A Vote was a major player in the outcome of the 2020 election, particularly in the state of Georgia and they are on the ground at this moment to combat ongoing efforts by the state legislature to suppress the black vote.
But at the end of the day, the reason why the likes of Swedish soccer player Zlatan Ibrahmhivoc, Laura “Karen” Ingraham, racist MMA fighter Colby Covington, or the LAPD sheriff are telling him to “stick to sports” or “shut up and dribble” or attempting to co-opt his message is that they cannot stand to see a black athlete taking control of the narrative, sticking to his convictions, and refusing to be compromised by a certain segment of white America who sees black athletes as solely entertainers and not human beings.
In other words, the sight of a black athlete being unapologetically black and outspoken is their worst nightmare.
That is how it was with Jack Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Hank Aaron, Curt Flood, Craig Hodges, and Mahmoud Abdul Rauf to name a few.
LeBron has a genuine interest in social justice and has proven that over and over again.
Ever since 2012 when he and his Miami Heat teammates took that iconic photo of them wearing hoodies in solidarity with Trayvon Martin.
(Courtesy: Bleacher Report)
Since then, LeBron has been on a tireless crusade for equality and at the NBA All-Star Game this past weekend he made it clear that his work is far from finished.
(Courtesy: SI.com)
His legacy goes beyond the frontlines and into how he has restructured the NBA player landscape.
(Courtesy: Youtube)
Ever since he made his decision to go to Miami from Cleveland in 2010 he has ushered in a new era of players making their own choices about their careers on their own terms.
A politics of self-determination executed by the likes of athletes such as Curt Flood, Oscar Robertson, and Spencer Haywood in keeping with the black prophetic tradition of Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, and the Black Panther Party.
LeBron and his contemporaries have taken control over their destiny and refuse to conform to the dominant society’s expectations of black athletes.
The critics of LeBron also know full well that he cannot be controlled and that he won’t back down.
These same people are the ones who even claim to be fans of his at one time, but the truth of the matter is that they tolerated him rather than embracing him.
They only saw him through the lens of the athlete and not as a person, essentially saying that “when push comes to shove, I don’t care how many points you score or how many championships you win, you don’t matter once you take off the uniform”.
An attitude that is unfortunately common among a tiny but loud portion of sports fandom in relation to black athletes.
LeBron on the other hand is saying black lives matter all the time and especially once a team jersey is placed back into the locker.
LeBron James is never going to relinquish his principles for the ignorant.
No matter how hard they try, the King retains his throne.
