Aaah, the race card. It’s been a while since the topic has surfaced in the world of sports. In case you missed it, in a recent interview with CNN’s Soledad O’Brien (video below), LeBron James was asked if he thought race played a role in the way in which the media has covered his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for seemingly greener pastures in Miami. LeBron responded, “I think so at times. It’s always, you know, a race factor.”
James’ manager, Maverick Carter feels the same way as he stated, “It’s just about control and not doing it the way it’s always been done or not looking the way that it always looks.” However, neither James nor Carter provided specific examples of why they feel this way.
I’ve stated repeatedly that LeBron should be applauded for this move, rather than hated because of what he willingly forfeited in the name of winning. Also, I didn’t necessarily have a problem with the hour long reality show “The Decision” where he announced to the world that he was leaving Cleveland.
But now I have a problem. Issues surrounding race do in fact exist in sports at times. It’s not as if it never happens, but this definitely isn’t one of those instances. Race had nothing to do with any sort of coverage of LeBron this summer. LeBron was the reason for the coverage of LeBron this summer. The main reason for the backlash that he received was because of the “The Decision.” Although that initiative raised $3M for The Boys and Girls Club of America, him doing that pissed people off. That move was largely viewed (not necessarily by me) as a way for LeBron to stroke his ego and to have all eyes on him. If Dirk Nowitzki did the same thing, there would be a negative reaction as well. Again, it didn’t bother me but it’s very easy to understand why it annoyed alot of people.
Could he have simply written a check for $3M to The Boys and Girls Club, and do without “The Decision”? Sure. If that were the case, we wouldn’t be having this discussion right now. If LeBron announced that he was switching teams in a discrete manner, like everyone else does, there wouldn’t have been as big of a backlash. “The Decision” fueled the fire. It was all the ammo that his haters needed. Granted, a certain segment of people (namely Cleveland) still would’ve reacted negatively to his choice, but everyone would’ve gotten over it much sooner. “The Decision” was the reason for everyone’s reaction this summer. Not because he’s black. The media didn’t even have to portray the story with a slant. He did it himself.
Nobody in sports today has been made out to be a bigger fool than Brett Favre of the Minnesota Vikings. Each summer, Favre engages in his own reality show entitled, “I really don’t want to go to training camp, so I’ll contemplate retirement.” Favre will forever be a walking punch line. He is the most decorated Quarterback in the history of the NFL and has records that may never be touched. But, he willingly sacrificed how he will be remembered because he would rather cause drama every summer. Similar to LeBron, that was brought on by himself and there is only one way that the media can cover it: in a negative light towards Favre. And by the way, Favre is white. The parallel between James and Favre is that the negative response that they received is largely due to their own actions.
As I said before, sometimes race is a relevant issue in sports, so when the race card is pulled when it doesn’t apply, it completely diminishes the cases where it actually does exist. They are rendered insignificant for reasons like this. Then sometimes Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson get involved where they don’t need to be, which can make it even worse. When Cavs owner, Dan Gilbert wrote his childish, misguided and ridiculous letter to fans of Cleveland where he verbally destroyed LeBron for making his decision to leave the club, Jesse Jackson said that Gilbert was treating LeBron as a “runaway slave.” Jackson had every right to take issue with Gilbert’s letter, but he could’ve and should’ve chosen any other analogy.
LeBron has undergone a historic fall from grace and it’s looking now as if that will continue. It has almost been sad to watch and has been Tiger Woods-esque. They say time heals all. If that’s true, he’ll need a whole lot of time because he may have committed PR suicide with this one.
Here is the video for your viewing pleasure:
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
