Black Journalists Starting to Insinuate Bron Is an Uncle Tom..

[Reverend Jesse Jackson]

im trying to wrap my head around why its wrong to want to go back home? Is Kyrie Irving not a legit All Star to play along side? He would already be, above and beyond, the best teammate he'd have during the time in Cleveland.

Ive bashed him since the decision, for all the obvious reasons. I cant get mad at him if he genuinely wants to go back home.

Wade's only gonna play 40 games next year. Bron needs help.

 

[Trip]

Him and Wade also had the sniffles lol

 

[THE MACHINE]

The wrong P-word is being tossed around in the LeBron James free-agency saga.
Pride. There's a prevailing sentiment among some folks, particularly black folks, that LeBron will have to swallow his pride in order to play basketball again for Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers. My friend and colleague J.A. Adande wrote a compelling piece probing larger NBA labor issues that separate James and Gilbert. This piece focuses singularly on pride and what role it should play in LeBron's decision-making.
In the aftermath of "The Decision," Gilbert ripped the NBA's top player for abandoning his home area to join forces with Pat Riley, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Four years ago in a letter to Cavs fans, Gilbert described James' actions as "cowardly," "narcissistic" and "heartless." He ranted like a jilted lover. The letter, in my eyes, illustrated the unhealthy depth of Gilbert's love and the thinness of the divide between it and hate. Of course, this being America, Jesse Jackson and a few other opportunists framed Gilbert's immature ramblings as racist and an indication of a slave owner's mindset.
That exaggerated and sensationalized framing still carries weight today, even among people who never believed it. That is why multiple stories have been written revolving around whether James can forgive Gilbert for writing an angry letter. Will James' pride allow him to toil for Gilbert's team?
Pride should have zero to do with James' decision. Progress and power should rule which uniform James wears moving forward. Which team -- Miami or Cleveland -- will give James the best chance of making progress toward his on- and off-court goals, and which team will grant him the most power to shape the franchise?
Pride -- the salvation of African-Americans when we were in chains, limited by Jim Crow laws -- has turned into an Achilles' heel for many of us. Unchecked pride evolves into swagger, a hypnotizing mask of insecurity that can and does compromise our ability to make progress and attain power. Pride stands in the way of forgiveness and a strategic approach to navigating a chessboard rigged to prevent pawns from becoming kings and queens.
Make no mistake, pride is an American problem. It's why we live above our means. It baits us into a delusion that cripples our self-awareness. Pride is the reason we won't address our poisonous gun laws, our fruitless war on drugs and terror, our abuse of the Earth.
Let's hope LeBron James is wiser and more mature than the rest of us. That sentence is not an endorsement of James' returning to Cleveland. I do not have enough information to make a credible argument for where James should continue his basketball career. I just know pride should play no role. Progress and power should.
With progress and power as part of the equation, Gilbert and the Cavaliers are a sound option. James has prioritized empowering his childhood friends (agent Rich Paul, business partner Maverick Carter and right hand Randy Mims) as part of his professional mission. There is considerable evidence this can best be achieved in Cleveland, a city a short drive away from their hometown of Akron.
More than Heat owner Micky Arison, Gilbert is comfortable partnering with James on how the franchise is operated and who has access to its inner sanctum. Arison has a powerful partner in Pat Riley, who has filled the Heat organization with loyalists and cronies. Riley is the visionary driving the Heat.
Perhaps King James wants to drive a franchise in a manner no previous athlete in a team sport ever has. Michael Jordan's basketball legacy is likely out of reach for the Chosen One. James has lost in the NBA Finals three times. Jordan never failed on the sport's biggest stage. But Jordan never competed in the social arena where James excels. And when Jordan tried to flex influence over the Chicago Bulls, Jerry Krause pushed Air Jordan into retirement.
James, perhaps, is trying to catch Muhammad Ali. Rocky Marciano finished with a perfect record. Ali, however, is regarded as The Greatest. Ali took chances. He risked his image and mass appeal by joining a controversial religion, opposing the draft and the Vietnam War, and threatening the establishment. James publicly supported Trayvon Martin, opposed Donald Sterling and has upset the establishment with his relentless support of Carter, Paul and Mims and power move(s) in free agency.
James is in pursuit of power, and he seems intent on using that power to give back to people who look like him and come from the same place.
And he should pass on a return to Cleveland and working alongside Dan Gilbert over pride? Really? Over an angry letter?
Power and progress are grown-folks business. Foolish pride is a vanity cherished by the young and the dumb. False pride is an important cog in the undercurrent fueling acrimony and disharmony in the poor and working class. Pride causes Joe the Plumber to believe his natural ally is a corporate CEO rather than Marquis the Factory Worker.
Proverbs teaches us that pride is the precursor to our crash. The King James version of the Bible says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
For LeBron, there is no downside in forgiving Gilbert. Harboring those seeds of resentment and bitterness do not enrich James. They could potentially blind him to the opportunity at his feet. He can return home more seasoned, sophisticated and wise, and properly execute the vision he laid out years ago.
LeBron and his crew weren't ready four years ago. They didn't know what they didn't know. They were ill-equipped to handle the access and influence Gilbert granted them, and the environment turned toxic and unproductive. LeBrontourage went off to grad school in Miami and were kept at a respectable distance by Riley and his underlings. It might be time for graduation, a return home and mentoring of young people. The Cavaliers have been remodeled. Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins could benefit from the wisdom James acquired working with Wade and Bosh.
The Cavaliers have cleared salary space and are poised to pursue/acquire the supporting pieces James wants. James took less money for four years to play in Miami. With a chance to three-peat, Arison declined to pay the luxury tax to give James the necessary supporting cast.
An owner who wrote an angry letter versus an owner unwilling to make the kind of financial sacrifice James made. Let's quit talking about pride. Let's focus on progress and power.

Another preach to black people article but this one was dope as hell

 

[Trip]

Lebron hasn't even met with Gilbert...but we're supposed to believe the fallout was as significant as it seems huh.

This is some made for TV drama more than anything. Lebron can do whatever he wants...he's basically the owner of the team anyway.

 

[JahBuhLun]

Another preach to black people article but this one was dope as hell

Forgiveness is cool if you're an owner and a worker offends you, then you let them back. But your boss publicly shyts on you after you leave and you still want to come back and work for him because you forgive them? I can even accept the idea that this was all pre planned 4 years ago, because you can't get any free agents to come to Cleveland, so you build through the draft, I get it, but why the bytch ass, scorned lover letter that he just took down last week? Partial ownership has to come with this deal, otherwise, Lebron needs better male role models around him.

 

[THE MACHINE]

Forgiveness is cool if you're an owner and a worker offends you, then you let them back. But your boss publicly shyts on you after you leave and you still want to come back and work for him because you forgive them? I can even accept the idea that this was all pre planned 4 years ago, because you can't get any free agents to come to Cleveland, so you build through the draft, I get it, but why the bytch ass, scorned lover letter that he just took down last week? Partial ownership has to come with this deal, otherwise, Lebron needs better male role models around him.

Agreed. I am hoping LeBron gets a significant cut of the pie. I actually wouldn't go back if I were Bron because of my pride but I think the article works in other instances. I think he can get the max and grow his brand anywhere.

 

[Trip]

When its all said and done this return has probably been in the works for a bit now. Rich Paul, two lottery wins in a row....and them dragging this "decision" out for so long definitely seems planned or staged. The league has developed a model and that model revolves around what Lebron wants to do and where he wants to be.

 

[Reverend Jesse Jackson]

I think y'all give Micky Arison too much credit...

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

Bron got the innanet going nuts.

 

[heart]

I'm not even one of those dudes that brings race into the equation on here, at ALL. I actually think the Coli militant shyt is typically unjustified, however, I would lose respect for Bron (not like he gives a damn lol) if he went back to Cleveland.

Gilbert's letter had that tone of entitlement to where it was almost like he OWNED Bron and dude was a runaway slave or some shyt. Blasted him publicly, to the point where the letter said Bron was a poor role model for kids everywhere because he chose to play a game in another city.

I guarantee you Riley or Micky Arison won't react in that manner if Bron goes back to Cleveland. It's just hard for me to fully respect dude as a man if he were to go back and make massa' Gilbert a crazy amount of money by signing with the Cavs. At the end of the day, dude would be signing Bron's checks, and I dunno man, I just could never do that, but that's just me.

I respect your POV but I have to disagree with a few things you stated.

First this is not directed towards YOU but I wish the word "c00n" could get banned on this site because it's obvious some brothas don't truly know what it means. Even worse so many are trying to paint Lebron with that word & narrative & it isn't true. That man has spoken out on many social issues & done way more for the black community than that degenerate gambling, crown royal drinking jordan.

Yes I agree gilbert came off as a scorned ex lover with his letter. But you & a lot of people have to remember Lebron basically ran the organization. His friends parked in the players parking lot, all kinds of exceptions were made for him, hell gilbert probably would've let lebron cuckold his wife if he thought he it would get him to say with the cavs. Lebron didn't let gilbert or the organization know anything & cut off all communication with them & he didn't even have the courtesy to let them know he was leaving.

Not saying gilbert was right about the letter but emotions were so high then that the man & so many cavs fans weren't being rational. Also there were plenty of coli/sohh black militants that were throwing a "different" type of hate towards lebron & calling him a b1tch because he decided he was wanted to team up with two(at the time) top 10 players. So A LOT of people were throwing salt towards that man so let's not lose sight of that.

Present day, the thing I find so disgusting & cringeworthy is so many people on here saying they will lose respect for him if he goes back to the cavs, you even said "massa gilbert". I think so many people are reading way too much into that letter. Gilbert felt betrayed & got caught in his feelings & when militants try to correlate gilbert to that of a slave owner is so damn ignorant & disrespectful....

Keep the BS in proper context, either mia or cle will make lebron a very paid, rich black man without a noose around his neck & all his rights...smh

 

[ThaRealness]

One thing I gotta give Bron props on, even if I dont' agree with his decisions (didn't agree with him going to MIA), is playing the game just like they play the game. fukk one-sided loyalty and sentiment. fukk what a player is supposed to do. He does what is best for him and his and makes power moves. Gotta respect that. I still wouldnt' go back to Cleveland though but I ain't him .

True that.

 

[MostReal]

Lebron is nowhere near an Uncle Tom. Especially when you compare him to other black superstars of this era.

he sure isn't 'the man' I respect. Dude is one of the few

 

[mt1984]

Cleveland is a majority black city and was the first major American city to elect a black mayor. Where did Muhammed Ali hold his black athlete summit? Hmmm...

Edit: Florida has Zimmerman and exactly zero black politicians of consequence. Cleveland been black - run for decades.

Talk about fake militants. Coli stans whitewashed cities and constantly dogs black majority cities.

 

[Box Cutta]

I don't think he's a c00n or anything like that. He seems to be a proud black man and I get a strong sense that he takes a lot of pride in having a strong black family. If this were the 70's Lebron would probably be talking about the struggle and shyt. This modern society puts such a MASSIVE penalty on black celebrities for speaking out, you have to toe the line and be ultra careful about it. But Lebron tends to be one of the guys that takes the risk and speaks out (Even if he keeps it relatively acceptable).

In regards to Dan Gilbert...you could just as easily say that Lebron is (assuming he goes to Cleveland) setting a good example by "being the bigger man" and not even acknowledging that passive-aggressive (A letter, really?) nonsense. fukk Dan Gilbert, it's not about him, and I doubt that Bron is going to be out there smiling up in his face and shyt.

Me personally? I wouldn't want to go and play for him. But I'm petty. If Lebron is "above it all" (And honestly, considering who he is and his fukking abilities, why wouldn't he be?) than more power to him.

It's ultimately all about what HE wants with HIS life. He's rumored to want to raise his children in Akron....if that is truly the case and he feels strongly enough about it...than he really has one option. Cleveland is the City that he comes from so run ruuuun....

^

 

[jadillac]

Never read the comments b.

reading comments on all the

It's funny b/c SKip Bayless says he doesnt read his twitter feed. He says it's not good for you.
And I feel the same way about reading comments from random ppl comments on internet articles