by Dr. Boyce Watkins
The Rev. Jesse Jackson caused a stir this week by jumping into the public tirade of Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert against NBA star LeBron James. In very public comments this week, Gilbert chastised James for deciding to leave Cleveland to play for the Miami Heat. He defined James as a traitor and someone that we would not want our children to be like.
Apparently Rev. Jackson decided that he'd had enough. In a public statement of his own, Jackson said the following:
"He speaks as an owner of LeBron and not the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers. His feelings of betrayal personify a slave master mentality. He sees LeBron as a runaway slave."
It was only a matter of time that someone made reference to the racial writing on the wall. With LeBron being an African American athlete and one of the most celebrated public figures in America today, many expected his decision to lead to a public uproar. What was not expected, however, was the decay in James' public image that resulted from his move. He was not only criticized for leaving the fans who'd been so loyal to him over the past seven years, James was described as a narcissist for making his decision on a nationally-televised special.
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