For the record, I’ve never cheered for a team on which LeBron James has played, on account of the fact that I’m a die-hard Chicago Bulls fan and he’s broken my heart far too many times for me to count.
No, by and large, LeBron James joins a long list of superstars—from Wilt Chamberlain to Larry Bird to Isiah Thomas—who have used their mind-blowing talents to beat my beloved Bulls.
This is a man who grew up in poverty—no father in the house—and willed his way to excellence. And once he made his millions, he never forgot where he came from. He helped build a public school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, with a heavy emphasis on the arts and conflict resolution. And he’s been courageously speaking out on behalf of Black Americans against police brutality for years.
James then tweeted: “I’m so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because it’s being used to create more hate. This isn’t about one officer. It’s about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY.”
This episode reveals MAGA’s curious attitude toward race in America. They say LeBron’s wealth and fame prove that race no longer matters. And that, in fact, LeBron James should be thanking America for making him so rich and so famous, instead of criticizing it.
It’s an updated version of the tactic employed by Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas at his Senate confirmation hearing in 1991.
