Almost a month away from the anniversary of LeBron’s
historic broadcast, “The Decision”, and in the midst of speculation that he may
yet again fail to achieve an NBA championship win, I am intrigued by the
extreme hatred for LeBron and the campaign for him to lose again this
season. The 2012 Forbes Magazine “Most
Disliked Athletes” poll conducted by Nielson, has LeBron rated #6, which gives
him hope to rebounding his reputation but that’s not saying much for people who
also feel that Kris Humphries was the #1
most disliked in the NBA because of his batched marriage to Kim Kardashian.
Anytime I offer my support for LeBron and the Miami
Heat, I always offer a disclaimer. One
of my sorority sisters along with another female sports enthusiast, both
diehard Bulls Fans and Heat haters, tweeted an interesting statement that connects
to my disclaimer. The first tweet
stated, “My TL is cracking me up w/ all this trash talk. I’d be mad if I was a Miami fan.” The other replied, “There is no rebuttals b/c
they aren’t REAL fans.” So, my twitter
reply to them both and my disclaimer was “There is no reason to rebut a general
contempt for a team solely because of their dislike for one player. Trying to be unbiased…I think it’s the same
reason Laker fans don’t argue back. Many
Heat fans don’t like Kobe for the same reasons people don’t like LeBron, so we
sort of understand. Doesn’t NOT make us
REAL Heat fans tho!” This response was
surprisingly well received by the girls and I was even given credit and excluded as one of the fakes. The
disclaimer is that for many of the same reasons people do not like LeBron, most
of which isn't connected to his playing ability, is the same reason that I struggle
with my support of Kobe Bryant. While I
do not spew as much venom as most throw at LeBron, despite my acknowledgement
that Kobe is by far one of the greatest to play the game, I still don’t like
him!
In the past, I have written about the historic
connection of the Black male athlete and representation. In brief, the “The Good Negro” was an
ideological assimilation that black people; post slavery, had to adapt to in order to gain
acceptability and access into white society.
This label is most notably recognized in connection with the role Jackie
Robinson played in the integration of sports.
Robinson admired not simply because of his accomplishment of making a
major league ball club, but that he accomplished this in the midst of
significant racial hatred. Branch Richie
made clear that while Robinson may not have been “the best” player in the Negro
League at the time, he was the person who they felt most confident could be
successful in baseball and in dealing with the physical and mental abuse that
he would face. Thus, the antithesis of
“The Good Negro” would thus be “The Bad Negro”.
Historically, the most notable “Bad Negro” was Muhammad Ali. What happens when you are silent and what
happens when you speak out is of significance not only to black male athletes,
like LeBron, but anyone who challenges the institutional norms currently in
place.
Why do I generally support LeBron? As a sport sociologist, I am clear about the
empirical and theoretical issues of control the black athlete faces in sport
participation. Two popular publications
that can inform your personal interest in this topic are “The New Plantation”
by Dr. Billy Hawkins and “40 Million Dollar Slaves” by William Rhoden. These books not only offer an analysis of the
black male athlete being considered indentured servants for the sporting
industry but offers ways that the sporting industry, athletes, and fans can
reverse this problem. Whether you agree
or disagree with this notion, most understand the level of control that
sporting institutions have over athletes' choice to play for the team they
would like, speak out on issues they disagree with, and interaction with friends and
family. Despite this acute awareness, many people are still challenged with LeBron's decision and the manner in which he chose to make his announcement.
Over time, you will learn that my fandom is
generally more connected to my interest in the individual player story rather
than an overall team success. I want
players to win and teams to celebrate the players that helped them gain the
title. I want LeBron to win, so that he
does not spend the rest of his life questioning “The Decision” he made to take
control of his Black male athletic body.
It is clear that he continues questing, “the way” he made the decision,
so I suspect he has moments of fear. I
personally did not have a problem with “The Decision” being broadcasted, nor
his choice to consult the players he would eventually partner with or not informing
his former coach. The level of pressure
LeBron faced in this decision was evident by the burning of jerseys and removal
of the building banner once he announced he was leaving for South Beach. Most importantly, no one can argue against
his decision to donate some of the proceeds earned from the advertising profits
gained from “The Decision” broadcast. Boys
and Girls Clubs of America across the country benefited from his broadcast,
pumping over 2 million dollars into clubs and an additional $500,000 worth of
Hewlett-Packet computers and $500,000 worth of Nike appeal he also contributed
to these clubs. If LeBron had to
sacrifice his reputation for the betterment of our communities, I say well done
King James!
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