Do you recall the ridiculous attention grab by Jesse Jackson at the time? Of course not. (He called Gilbert a racist slave owner.)
“His feelings of betrayal personify a slave master mentality,” Jackson said in a statement. “(Gilbert) sees LeBron as a runaway slave.” “(Gilbert’s) accusations endanger LeBron,” Jackson wrote. “His jersey is being burned in effigy, and he is being projected as a betrayer by the owner. ... LeBron is not a child, nor is he bound to play on Gilbert’s plantation and be demeaned.”
6 years prior to the fugazi 'posse' blowup...Jason Whitlock warned (and went as far as to...refer to LeBron's entourage as a, you got it, posse):
Yep, it’s the card. LeBron James and his kiddie handlers screwed up, staging an image-damaging public-relations disaster, and now some African-Americans want to change the subject by changing the argument.
NBA owners and their $100-million contracts are slave owners and King James is Kunta Kinte escaping on the Underground Railroad to Miami’s Tootsie’s Cabaret, where he’ll make it rain.
It’s stupid. Dan Gilbert’s rant was certainly immature, but it wasn’t remotely racist. He sounded like a scorned lover, a guy who gave his heart to a relationship and found out on national TV that the alleged love of his life didn’t care about him at all.
Gilbert vented. I give James credit for not responding.
Jackson and other African-Americans need to follow LeBron’s lead. We look foolish. We look hypocritical. We come across like people who have little genuine interest in seeing racial prejudice disappear and more like people who just want it to swing in our favor.
Rather than deal with the callous and classless way James departed his home state, some of us are trying to make this about race. It’s not.
No rational person begrudges James for joining Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Pat Riley and the Miami Heat. Sports fans — and owners — have grown used to star players switching teams.
People were stunned and turned off by the hey-look-at-me circus James conducted on his way out of Cleveland. It was unnecessary and easy to avoid. It was cruel to all the young and old fans who supported him.
Beyond that, it was bad business. James damaged his brand. He made himself polarizing for no good reason. A man of his wealth would pay $2.5 million to avoid the kind of bad publicity that has engulfed James in the aftermath of "The Decision."
You can argue James has the right to destroy his image. Man has the right to smoke cigarettes, too. It’s still stupid. And nonsmokers have the right to point out the stupidity of smoking.
You can’t defend LeBron’s lapse in judgment by claiming his critics are racist. You’re crippling James, baiting him to make more mistakes.
There was nothing honorable or smart about the way he orchestrated his exit.
From all reports, James knew months ago he was going to Miami with Wade and Bosh. His interviews were a farce. He invited white billionaires to grovel at his feet. And Jesse Jackson wants to call Gilbert a slave owner. Please.
Gilbert gave James and his entourage the keys to the franchise for seven years and tolerated all the indulgences of youth. He foolishly expected James and his posse to treat the Cavaliers with a modicum of respect.
It’s why you don’t spoil kids. They’ll take advantage and not express an ounce of appreciation.
Everyone who objectively watched the Boston-Cleveland playoffs series knows James quit on the Cavs, selling out his teammates and costing head coach Mike Brown his job.
Despite Brown’s African-American heritage, Jesse Jackson doesn’t care about Mike Brown. Jesse’s all good with LeBron’s betrayal of a black head coach because Mike Brown’s name doesn’t draw record TV ratings.
We’re a nation of jock-sniffers and hypocrites. It’s not surprising so many of us fall for the crap spewed by Jesse, Rush, Al, Hannity and all the rest.
6 years later this sums up the entire NBA. Spoiled crybabies who quit if they don't get what they want. Or get no trade clauses...
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