The Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James, for the third consecutive year, will have the opportunity to play on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The NBA as a whole does an incredible job of pushing the critical values that the day represents for African-Americans and the entire country.
James, in particular, has long been a voice for the league and has no problems with taking on the task of making sure fans understand the significance of specific issues to our community.
Before the team’s home game against the Golden State Warriors, James was available to the media and used the time to bring attention to some vital topics. James also had some strong words for President Trump.
“The state of racism will never die, but what we cannot do is allow it to conquer us as people,” James told ESPN. “We can’t allow it to divide us. The guy in control has given people and racism, and negative racism, an opportunity to be out and outspoken without fear. And that’s the fearful thing for us because it’s with you, and it’s around every day, but he’s allowed people to come out and just feel confident about doing negative things.”
“We can’t allow that to stop us from continuing to be together and preach the right word of living and loving and laughing and things of that nature. Because would we want to live anywhere else? I don’t think so. We love this place.”
“We are in a difficult state right now as Americans as well with the leader of our country,” James continued. “But us, like I said, no matter the religion, no matter the shapes and sizes, we all have to continue to come together and shine a brighter light on, you know, I mean, I don’t want to use the word stupidity, but that’s basically what it comes down to.”
LeBron James is certainly not alone in the league among those who have their hand on the pulse of the country. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich spoke with the media before his team took on the Atlanta Hawks. Popovich put the onus on the country as whole to help put an end to the perpetual racism in our country.
Following transcription from nydailynews.com,
“I think we all have a responsibility to call out injustice and racism,” Popovich said. “This whole little deal we’re going through now with comments about African countries and so on and so forth. You can argue all day and you can see some of his [Trump] sycophants dodge and weave, and all that sort of thing. You can argue that he is or he isn’t, but what really is disgusting to me is that, even if you wanted to see he is not a racist. Or as he says, he’s the least racist of anybody, and I still don’t understand that term. But, he certainly is willing to wield race like a weapon and use it for his own purposes, whether it’s Charlottesville, or whether it’s the comment he just made, or that you can’t believe what they’re finding in Hawaii about Obama’s birth certificate.”
