“No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is — it’s tough. And we got a long way to go for us as a society and for us as African-Americans until we feel equal in America.”
LeBron James
May 31, 2017
I’ve never considered myself a die-hard basketball fan. I’ll watch a game or two and I’ll root for the San Antonio Spurs whenever they play. But my mood generally remains the same whether they win or lose. I feel the same about LeBron James. Some love to hate him, other appreciate his many God-given gifts on the basketball court. Either way, my mood generally remains the same whether he wins or loses. Until now.
It was reported several weeks ago that a Los Angeles home owned by James was vandalized and the N-word was spray painted on the property. James provided the above quote when discussing the crime, one the LAPD has said they will investigate as a hate crime. It’s not that he said anything the black community didn’t already know. Money may be green, but somehow it loses its luster when held in black hands. The ignorant in this society cares little about money, stature, or influence. I’m not sure what they see when it’s a black face in front of them. But the history of this society indicates that many of the ignorant see an opportunity to defame, embarrass, and murder without hesitation.
Athletes are often measured by how they respond in their respective games’ big moments. The true superstars generally perform their best in big moments. As I said, I’m not a die-hard basketball fan. I just don’t consider sports the “real world.” But there are still big moments when superstars perform their best. Our history is loaded with superstars. Some are common names (for example: Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Harriet Tubman) while others are not so common (for example: Heman Sweatt and Barbara Jordan). I’d like to add James to this list of superstars.
James has a fairly quiet history of using his celebrity to bring awareness to those causes he supports. The black community understands the risk someone of his stature takes when they comment on social issues. The loss of advertisers and revenues immediately comes to mind. Yet there he was, the day before yet another NBA conference final discussing race in this society. I’m proud that he didn’t back down from the challenge of racism. In fact, racism may have scored, but James came right back down the court, squared up, and delivered a thunderous dunk when he said, “being black in America is — it’s tough.”
By the way, has anybody seen the President’s tax returns?
Later.