Wedge, Where’s the Stache?
July 31, 2008Rich Rod Hates Kids, Tradition; Loves Illegal Practices
August 1, 2008Please note that this post is not aimed to stir the pot as much as to get a gauge for what the consensus feeling is regarding LeBron James and his presidential campaign support. We all know that Michael Jordan refused to support one party or another, claiming that both parties by shoes. A cop-out, sure. But one that could have cost Jordan a few dollars in the Nike column. But LeBron has decided to go another route, standing up for what he believes in; putting his money where is mouth is.Â
But what about where his mouth was? Before this week, James has circumvented the entire political issue. At least in the media.
On April 30th, LeBron discussed the infamous cover of Vogue magazine. While we agreed that there were definately more important things to worry about than what was “perceived” (like, you know, the playoffs?). But at the end of his post, LeBron wrote:
“Besides there are more important things going on like the upcoming presidential election. Get out and vote! It would be great to see history made this time around, like seeing Americaâs first African-American president. GO OBAMA!!!!”
“I believe that politics and sports shouldnât mix and it is best for the politicians to work out these types of issues.”
“I’m not so far into it, I don’t feel I need to be hands-on into it,” he said. “You want to keep athletics and politics separate.”
Party lines aside, is this move not merging athletics and politics – the one issue that James had opposed; at least up until this past week? Do I think that its wrong of James to do? Not at all. Standing behind what you believe is something I wish more people did, instead of just complaining about issues instead of offering resolutions. Obviously, James feels that Senator Obama is the answer.Â
But given the past year of avoiding politics all together, was this move a tad on the hypocritical side?
26 Comments
You say “all politics aside”, but this stinks of partisonship on your part. Listen, It is Lebrons money to do with what he chooses. If he feels passionately about Obama’s candidacy, then I applaud him for standing up and supporting the cause despite potential backlash. He is not actively campaigning, so the he is not ‘mixing sports and politics’, LBJ is simply supporting his favored candidate through a private donation, its not as if he issued a press release. Some nerdy journalist was searching the fec.com public records looking for a scoop. Finally, I would say that this is absolutely not hypocritical, because in no way does this related to sports. Just because he is a professional athlete does not mean he has to act stupid to world and current events. James is from Ohio, from Akron, He no doubt sees the economic devastation in the inner cities and NE Ohio all together.
Had this donation gone to Senator McCain, I doubt this article would have been written. Speaking of mixing sports and politics, why did you find this a necessary post? Sounds like the hypocrisy is coming from WFNY
If LeBron had come out and said “I’m giving the maximum donation to Obama then it might have been hypocritical. This wasn’t an announcement, it was a reporter doing his job. And KPD, I think you are simply looking for an argument if you believe that article was in any way slanted towards either of the candidates.
I didnt as though this article “stinks of partisonhip” on the part of WFNY. I think this is an interesting point that is raised. When it comes to China’s politics, mum was the word for Bron Bron. As far as our politics, while he hasnt made a press conference he is clearly a Obama supporter. I wonder what his reasoning is, not to intentionally get into a political argument but Lebron says lets see history made with America’s first african american president. This isnt really the best argument for a candidate.
KPD – you obviously need to re-read if you think there was any slant one way or another. I’m not even saying that it was hypocritical – I’m merely laying out a few posts, comparing, and asking what the readers think. I’m sorry if you’re offended by my questioning.
Why would anyone care about a basketball player’s political views? Wake me up when we’re talking about basketball.
People can change their mind….
I think we can all agree that James is more than just a basketball player
hold on a second. lebron supports obama. obama is half black. there are more half blacks in new york than in cleveland. hmmmm…you know what this means
I don’t think he’s being hypocritical at all. I think we all need to remember who we’re talking about–it’s hard to remember that Lebron is 23, just a kid, just one week younger (and $160 million richer) than me. And as a young adult Lebron has been fortunate to realize his potential early on and I think he is always consciously putting himself (or at least trying too) in the best position to avoid public criticism. He knows what he can become and how to protect his image/brand, when he wants to stay out something he does (see Darfur). I think this is just an example of Lebron getting caught up in something and seeing it as an opportunity to get involved in something bigger than a triple double.
Scott I agree he’s not a basketball player, and he’d be the first to tell you that.
And to KPD, of course this article would have been written if he donated to McCain. Every move the kid makes gets its own article.
Very well put, Eric.
This is, admittedly, unrelated to the topic, but ESPN had a nice write-up on LeBron and Team USA after the Turkey game.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=USATurkey-080731&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1
Well, it WAS a nice write-up, to a point…..you’ll never guess what Sheridan brings up near the end.
Yeah… Well Put Eric.
And one more thing OBAMA 08 !!!!
of course he would be “remiss” to not throw that in there.
i came across a note in the plain dealer (i think, but it was a local writer) who noted that lebron was wearing an indians hat at an olympic team press conference or photo session or something like that in new york prior to leaving for Asia. i wish i could find that article now. how come chris sheridan (or any other national guy) failed to mention that? oh right – because that would undermine the whole theory that lebron is obviously leaving cleveland. i mean, lebron IS the only pro-athlete who wears a yankees hat and doesnt actually play for the yankees.
On the Darfur subject, don’t forget that LeBron came around, going so far as to say (I’m paraphrasing) that if Nike wasn’t happy about expressing a view that was anti-China he didn’t care – because the lives of the people in Darfur are more important than shoe contracts.
This seems like it’s an obvious point, but it’s not often that an athlete of LeBron’s magnitude will express an idea like this – when they asked Kobe to comment on the same subject he declined.
Personally, I’m proud of LeBron, especially for what he does for the city of Akron.
Obama is such a media darling that a famous person supporting him (either financially or otherwise) is status quo. “Barack Obama is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life.”
I don’t support Senator Obama (AT ALL) but just like the Yankee Hat – I’m sure I’ll get over it when LeBron is dropping 40 on Kobe in 08-09.
But let’s just put it this way – IF LeBron ever decides to leave Cleveland (which he wont) I will have plenty of reasons to root against him.
This post is fair, but I don’t think we should expect consistency in political sentiments from a 23-year old basketball player. How many people in the US know the nuances of the situation in Darfur enough to take a decisive stance on it? It’s a complicated and tragic situation with no clear-cut solution; I stay up on world affairs, including Sudan, but wouldn’t feel comfortable publicly venturing an opinion on Darfur.
LeBron should be applauded for taking a stance on Obama. Unlike Darfur, it is a culturally relevant and historically important issue that resonates directly w/ the African-American community, of which he is a powerful icon. Not to politicize this fantastic blog which I read every day, but Obama-McCain is a no-brainer. I’ll be rooting for Obama with almost equal fervor to as the Browns and Buckeyes in coming months đ
this is off topic, but isnt arguing that lebron will leave because (1) he has friends in NY, like JayZ, and (2) because he is a big fan of NYC, just as arbitrary and ridiculous as saying he will stay in cleveland because (1) he has family and friends in cleveland/akron, and (2) he is from akron (NEO ohio) originally and enjoys the city of cleveland? yet, the NY media puts SO much stock on the former while completely blows off and practically mocks the latter.
Okay…LeBron says sports and politics shouldn’t mix, and he mixes them by being one of the most recognizable figures in sports and publicly endorsing Obama…this is a clear indication of either hypocrisy or a change of heart. The latter could certainly be justified by his thinking Obama’s being elected president to be a more important consideration than conflicts that could emerge from mixing sports and politics. The original post makes perfect sense in wondering how we should take LeBron’s various remarks. I’m inclined to be charitable and lean toward LeBron’s just becoming more passionate about politics. Whether or not one wants to agree with the history-making of the potentially first African-American president is a separate question, and one that is tangential to the question raised in the post.
EDIT: I should have said “…agree with the emphasis on the history-making…” — obviously, it would be history-making.
Also, he made about the least political “political statement” one could make. It was a 50/50 shot. I mean, Paris Hilton and 5 year olds are saying the same thing, for one canidate or the other.
First of all: I’m an Obama supporter. Just want to put that out there, so I don’t get accused of anything unfairly. Fair accusations, of course, are encouraged.
Now then: I have no problem with LBJ’s comments in April on the Vogue website, nor with his donation. He’s allowed his opinion, just like everyone else. What I *do* have a problem with is the part where his comment or position might actually influence someone to vote for either Obama or McCain — either “Boy, he can put up a triple-double at will, I’m going to vote the way he votes!” or “As a Washington Wizards fan, there’s no way I’ll ever vote for anyone that LBJ would consider!”
But that’s got nothing to do with LeBron, and everything to do with the screwed up cult of personality politics this country has been dealing with for over two hundred years now. Democracy: The worst form of government except all those other ones.
Can we go back to talking about Matt LaPorta now?
Here, here…let’s discuss Matt Laporta, or Antwan Peek for that matter…
Three points:
First, you left off the next sentence of LeBron’s post. Here’s what he said about sports and politics:
“I believe that politics and sports shouldnât mix and it is best for the politicians to work out these types of issues. But if sports can create awareness and shed light on this issue then thatâs a good thing.”
http://lebron-blog.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!3D9EFE7E844327E7!1424.entry
So, he wasn’t making quite such a blanket statement as you implied. And he’s not really contradicting himself, is he?
Second, he’s still young, he’s not running for office, and he’s just starting to speak publicly on political topics. We don’t need to vet his history and hold him up to the same kind of lifetime consistency test that Tim Russert used for politicians.
Third, here’s what he said to ESPN about Darfur:
“I didn’t sign the letter right then and there so now it’s blown up,” he said. “No one heard my side of the story, but automatically it’s ‘LeBron didn’t sign the letter, he doesn’t care.’ But for me to try to create awareness of the situation that’s going on in Darfur and other places, for me, in the position I am, I should speak on it and I am gonna speak on it.”
James told us he spent time over the previous year educating himself about China. He realizes that his voice is powerful and he will be heard. He has yet to sign the letter but said he will continue to speak about the conflict as the Olympics draw closer. He said he hopes the NBA Olympians will band together with a plan on how to address the situation. He spoke eloquently for 15 minutes, and insisted he didn’t care about endorsements or contracts or anything but doing what he felt was right.
“At the end of the day we’re talking about human rights,” he said. “And people should understand that human rights and people’s lives are in jeopardy. We’re not talking about contracts here. We’re not talking about money. We’re talking about people’s lives being lost and that means a lot more to me than some money or a contract.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3398947&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab5pos2
I would buy three or four pairs of Lebrons a year. I am done with the man . At one time I was the biggest Springstien fan on the planet, now I can’t stomach him. It is best to keep your mouth shut when you don’t know the issues. I am sure Lebron falls in the catagory of $250,000 dollars a year income bracket. I guess he will pay more than his share according to Obama unless he is giving special privelages to those who publicly back him. He wouldn’t do that since I know this is illegal.
No contradictions here.
1) Lebron making a personal contribution to Obama’s campaign is different from using his celebrity to get Obama elected. In other words, when Lebron says that he wants to keep athletics and politics separate, he means that he’s not interested in using his celebrity to push a political agenda. Not yet, anyway.
2) Lebron refrained from commenting on Darfur because he (by his own admission) didn’t know enough to take a side. Presumably he knows more about America and its politics. Taking a side isn’t just his right, it’s his responsibility.
Let’s see: LeBron is 23, Barack is 47, and McCain is 70 something. LeBron likes basketball, Barack likes basketball, and McCain likes golf and being grumpy. LeBron is African-American, Barack is half-African-American, and McCain, as his supporters like telling us, “All-American”, which, to many of them, not knowing our country’s history, means all white. So far I can think of three reasons why LeBron would identify with Barack and not with McCain.
I would personally hope, as a Barack supporter, that more African-American athletes would follow LeBron’s example and financially support Barack. Obviously, from the comments of people like jeff, who posted at comment #24, such support carries some risk of ticking people off. Well, that’s too bad. For every Jeff who doesn’t buy LeBron’s gear, there will be many who do.