All
those seasons and all those games that Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls chose
not to play, he was being a revolutionary. He was making a bold statement
toward justice and racial equality for all!
AT
LEAST THAT seems to be what certain activists in Cleveland would have us think,
what with the way they say it would mean something if LeBron James of the Cleveland
Cavaliers chose to not play in the next few games his NBA team plays – as a way
of showing his outrage over the fact that prosecutors in Cleveland will not be
seeking criminal charges against the local cops who killed a 12-year-old black
boy.
That
decision was made Monday, and the outcry on Tuesday was trying to make James himself
a visible part of their contempt for the police and for society as a whole.
Now
as of my writing this, James himself has kept his mouth shut. He hasn’t given
any indication that he’d even consider the request of the activists.
A
part of me suspects that he, and most other professional athletes, live in their
own little world and certainly don’t want to be bothered by anything that doesn’t
happen directly on the court.
CHECKING
OUT THE gams on the dance squads that many sports teams use as half-time
entertainment is about as much of a statement as many of these guys want to do.
So
when I hear of James being asked to make a political statement, I can’t help
but think back to the days when Michael Jordan was predominant and he was asked
to get involved in electoral politics – particularly to make statements against
some of the most outrageous nonsense being spewed then by the ideologues on the
Republican side.
Jordan,
we recall, refused. He kept quiet, although he made a brief statement about how
“Republicans buy shoes too,” referring to the “Air Jordan” brand of athletic
shoes. He wasn’t about to risk his financial bottom line by doing anything that
would offend potential customers of a product being his identity.
Why
do I suspect LeBron James will be inclined to take the same attitude, no matter
how much pressure any activist types decide to try to push on him. He’ll say as
little as he has too.
BESIDES,
I CAN’T help but think that the idea of a ballplayer deciding to sit on the
bench for a few games would not have the desired result. Particularly since
many sports fans most enjoy it when their professional athletes behave like
dumb ballplayers who know even less than the sideline cheerleaders.
It’s
why I joke about the concept that Rose was being a revolutionary when he
refused to play. We all know that just isn’t true.
He
may well have been recovering from surgery and decided not to rush his attempt
to come back to play. But the only cause he was touting was himself and his
lazy streak.
Of
course, my own attitude about this issue may be swayed by the fact that I’m
from Chicago, and there are many of our own professional athletes we’d rather
see less of because they manage to stink up the field every time they take too
it.
TAKE
JAY CUTLER for instance. The quarterback of our Chicago Bears ought to be the
ultimate sports figure in the Second City. Yet for as much as he manages to
infuriate us, what would happen if someone were to suggest that Cutler sit out
a few games to show support for those who want police punishment for the death
of Laquan McDonald?
It
would probably have the reverse effect of driving up support for the Chicago
cop who now faces six counts of murder for McDonald’s death! Heck, we local
sports fans would probably support anything if it meant that Cutler were to
just wither away.
Somehow,
I doubt that sports fans in Cleveland are all that much different.
Besides,
any city that actually defends the image of Chief Wahoo by its baseball club
isn’t going to be a place that feels the need to influence police/black people
relations on its ball fields and athletic courts.
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