It shouldn’t all be on the broad shoulders of LeBron James.
The Los Angeles Lakers megastar shouldn’t be the only one who will dictate the future — both near and distant — of the NBA. The league is trying to find a way to return in the coming months amid the concerns about how its participants will play through the still raging COVID-19 pandemic. Players are also weighing how to move forward as protests urging police reform and supporting Black Lives Matter continue.
But the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley was spot on when he tweeted, “If (James) said he hooping. We all hooping.”
This is the same James who was at the forefront of NBA players wearing “I Can’t Breathe” warmup shirts in 2014 after the death of Eric Garner in New York and was praised by President Barack Obama for doing so. The same James who started the I Promise School in Akron to help at-risk children get a good education. The same James who has called President Donald Trump a “bum” on Twitter and publicly said Trump “really don’t give a (expletive) about the people.”
Hoopers say what y’all want. If @KingJames said he hooping. We all hooping. Not Personal only BUSINESS🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 🙏🏾 #StayWoke ✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) June 14, 2020
He’s the same James who has been vocal about Drew Brees’s comments about kneeling during the national anthem, who shined a spotlight on the Buffalo police officers who shoved a 75-year-old man to the ground during protests in the city and who asked if “how we vote is also structurally racist” after some neighborhoods had voting issues in Georgia last week.
Yes, there were other current and former athletes who started a group with James aimed at helping stop voter suppression — More Than a Vote. But it’s James who was at the front, telling the New York Times, “This is the time for us to finally make a difference.”
Heavy is the head that wears the crown, yes. But in James’s case, this is what he has taken on and succeeded at: He not only turned himself into the NBA’s biggest star, he has willingly taken on the role of serving as the league’s moral center. As James goes, so go other players.
So with reports of former James teammate Kyrie Irving being the loudest voice among players concerned that the NBA’s return will be a blow to the ongoing discussions about police reform, systemic racism and more, it’s James — who wasn’t on the Friday night call with players having these debates — who will be the voice that can push the league one way or the other.
What is James thinking? Per ESPN, it’s this:
According to sources with knowledge of James’ thinking, he believes he can effect social change — and amplify his impact while playing — as he did in 2014 when he called for Donald Sterling’s removal from the NBA and in 2012 when James and his teammates with the Miami Heat wore hoodies in response to the death of Trayvon Martin.
For James, basketball isn’t a distraction. It’s the platform he uses to push for change, the way he uses his earned stardom for good. And it’s that platform that he could use to help players understand that returning to play could amplify and enhance the messages players want to deliver, not squash it.
That’s not to say what Irving, Dwight Howard and others are voicing is wrong. But it will be what James says and does ahead of the league’s return that will ultimately sway player opinion one way or the other.
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