Uncle LeBron's Cabin As Told By Jesse Jackson

As most of you know, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert wrote a scathing open letter (which I've linked to below) lambasting superstar LeBron James for deciding to play for the Miami Heat next season. On July 12, the Rev. Jesse Jackson criticized Gilbert for his comments. In addition to calling Gilbert's remarks "mean, arrogant, and presumptuous", Jackson also said the following:

"He speaks as an owner of LeBron and not the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers," the reverend said in a release from his Chicago-based civil rights group, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. "His feelings of betrayal personify a slave master mentality. He sees LeBron as a runaway slave. This is an owner employee relationship -- between business partners -- and LeBron honored his contract."

Jackson also called Gilbert's comments an attack on all NBA players and said the owner should face a "challenge" from the league and the players' association.

When I first heard Jesse's comments, I was like, "what the hell is he talking about?!" The "slave owner/runaway slave" analogy is not only an insult to those who suffered and died as a result of slavery, but it unnecessarily injected race into the discussion. As I've said on this blog and in everyday conversations, an issue involving people of different races does not make the issue racial.

Ask yourselves these questions:

1. Do you think Dan Gilbert would have made the same comments if LeBron James was white?

2. Do you believe Jesse Jackson would have used the "slave master/runaway slave" analogy if Dan Gilbert were black or if LeBron James was white?

My answers to those questions are yes and no, respectively.

Regardless of one's feelings about Jesse Jackson, I think it's hard to deny that he has done some positive things when it comes to race and politics. However, his comments on the LeBron/Dan Gilbert situation seem like a pathetic bid to stay relevant in a constantly evolving racial/social/political climate. He's definitely got people talking about him again. The question is, at what cost?

Dan Gilbert's open letter:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/08/dan-gilbert-letter-lebron_n_640318.html

Can White Men Jump?

I read the following article on Huffington Post with my mouth hung open. It really wasn't the idea of an all-white basketball league, but the reasoning behind it that has me perplexed.

Read:

A whites-only basketball league aims to launch in twelve cities this summer, according to a report in the Augusta Chronicle. The All-American Basketball Alliance would also ban players born outside the United States.

The league's commissioner, Don "Moose" Lewis, claims that he doesn't "hate anyone of color. But people of white, American-born citizens are in the minority now." Thus, he says, the All-American Basketball Alliance would be "a league for white players to play fundamental basketball, which they like."

The commissioner of this league added the following observations:

Lewis said he wants to emphasize fundamental basketball instead of "street-ball" played by "people of color." ...

"Would you want to go to the game and worry about a player flipping you off or attacking you in the stands or grabbing their crotch?" he said. "That's the culture today, and in a free country we should have the right to move ourselves in a better direction."

I think basketball is a game set to music, no matter who plays. I don't know who the audience for this all-white league would be. Are there really folks out there who don't like to see Kobe's fall away jumper, LeBron's monstrous dunks, Dwight Howard's domination in the paint, and/or DWade's Jordanesque "how did he do that" shots? If you don't get excited by these and other players in the NBA, then you don't really like basketball.

At the foundation of this new league is...well, the name of the league is All-American for crying out loud. All-American? Last time I checked we were all Americans...is it the black kids fault that they lived and breathed basketball so it becomes second nature to them? Fundamentals are taught as you learn about the game...so if these kids are coached and taught based on what James Naismith wrote when he developed the original basketball rulebook, what is the difference? When exactly did the fairer race become a minority?

Trying to circumvent the real reason for this league by saying that white players play fundamental ball and black players do not is pure foolishness. Don't hide racism behind illogical reasoning.

The NBA is a business. They want the most exciting players who are going to deliver endorsements and money back into the league. Maybe the white kids should consider playing some of that "street ball" to up their game.