PrintJuly 12, 2010
Jesse Jackson plays the race card in LeBron James controversy
Jesse Jackson has come out against Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert for remarks he made after LeBron James's decision last week to leave the Cavs to play for the Miami Heat.
ESPN reports:
Jesse Jackson criticized Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert on Sunday, saying Gilbert sees LeBron James as a "runaway slave" and that the owner's comments after the free-agent forward decided to join the Miami Heat put the player in danger.
Shortly after James announced his decision last week, Gilbert fired off an incendiary letter to Cleveland's fans, ripping the 25-year-old and promising to deliver a title before James wins one. He called James' decision "cowardly" and later told The Associated Press he believes James quit during a handful of Cavaliers playoff games.
"He has gotten a free pass," Gilbert told the AP in a phone interview late Thursday night. "People have covered up for [James] for way too long. Tonight we saw who he really is."
Jackson said Gilbert's comments were "mean, arrogant and presumptuous."
"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."
Shortly after James announced his decision last week, Gilbert fired off an incendiary letter to Cleveland's fans, ripping the 25-year-old and promising to deliver a title before James wins one. He called James' decision "cowardly" and later told The Associated Press he believes James quit during a handful of Cavaliers playoff games.
"He has gotten a free pass," Gilbert told the AP in a phone interview late Thursday night. "People have covered up for [James] for way too long. Tonight we saw who he really is."
Jackson said Gilbert's comments were "mean, arrogant and presumptuous."
"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."
It's funny that Jackson feels compelled to provide his perspective on this situation involving a famous Black American athlete - and use an inflammatory term like "runaway slave" in the process - but doesn't feel it's necessary to criticize liberal politicians who intentionally avoid dealing with issues that disproportionately affect everyday Black Americans, such as unemployment, abortion, and education.
Jackson believes Gilbert had framed in his mind he was LeBron's "owner", but, if he wants to talk about people being owned, there are millions of Americans whose lives are supported solely by government assistance.
That's not an issue Jackson wants to tackle, he's more concerned with how a multi-millionaire Black athlete is being "treated" by the owner of his former team. If there's anything "good" that could be said about these despicable race baiters it's that they are consistent, unfortunately, they are consistently out of touch and useless.
J.C. Arenas is a frequent contributor to American Thinker and welcomes your comments at jcarenas.com
