On Tuesday, following the outbursts from NBA star LeBron James after the Kenosha, Wisconsin, shooting of Jacob Blake by police, Jason Whitlock of Outkick The Coverage slammed James in an article titled, “LeBron James Is A Bigot.”
Whitlock began:
Time for BLM 101, Volume 4. BLM 101 is dedicated to educating professional athletes about the negative consequences of the Black Lives Matter movement. BLM 101 makes every effort to avoid snark and ridicule. Today that will be difficult.
“OK, let’s head to the NBA Bubble at Disney World and check in with the NBA Police Review Board headed by internal affairs officer LeBron James,” Whitlock wrote. “From his Florida hotel, Officer James is leading the investigation into the Kenosha, Wisconsin police-involved shooting of Jacob Blake.”
Whitlock quoted James tweeting, “And y’all wonder why we say what we say about the police! Someone please tell me WTF is this?! Exactly another black man being targeted. This shit is so wrong and so sad! Feel so sorry for him, his family and our people! We want justice.” Whitlock segued to James’ remarks on Monday night, when he told a press conference, “I know people get tired of hearing me say it, but we are scared as black people in America. Black men, black women, black kids, we are terrified.”
Whitlock asserted that James accused the police of lying when he claimed, “If you’re sitting here and telling me that there was no way to ‘saydue’ (subdue) that gentleman or detain him or just before firing guns, then you’re sitting here lying to not only me, but you’re lying to every African American, every black person in the community.”
"We are scared as Black people in America. … Black men, Black women, Black kids. We are terrified."
LeBron shared a powerful message on Jacob Blake and what it's like to be African American in America. pic.twitter.com/UOMD7rk7Bd
— ESPN (@espn) August 25, 2020
Whitlock then countered, “I’m black. I’m not scared. I’m not terrified. Neither is LeBron James. He’s lying. He and the political activists controlling him want black people to immerse themselves in fear. Fear is a tool used to control people. If you comply with police instructions, there is virtually no chance of an American citizen being harmed by police.”
Whitlock quoted James stating, “If you watch the video, there were multiple moments where if they wanted to, they could’ve tackled (Blake). They could’ve grabbed him. You know? They could’ve done that. And why, why does it always have to get to a point where we see guns firing?”
“It’s very difficult to investigate police shootings and play NBA playoff games,” Whitlock noted. “Officer James is clearly unaware of a second video that shows police on the opposite side of Blake’s car wrestling with Blake on the ground. Blake escapes the police, gets to his feet and walks to the driver’s side of his vehicle. I’m sure someone on the NBA Police Review Board will show James the second video at some point Tuesday.”
“You have no idea how that cop that day left the house,” James stated. “You don’t know if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. You don’t know if he had an argument at home with his significant other. You don’t know if one of his kids said something to him and he left the house steaming. Or maybe he just left the house saying that, ‘Today is going to be the end for one of these black people.’ That’s what it feels like. That’s what it feels like. It just hurts. It hurts.”
Whitlock fired, “I’m sure the Kenosha police are saying the exact same thing about Jacob Blake, who had an active arrest warrant for third-degree sexual assault at the time of the shooting. Blake has previously been arrested for pointing a weapon at people, carrying a concealed weapon into a building and domestic violence. Did Jacob Blake wake up on the wrong side of the bed Sunday morning?”
“LeBron James has more than 40 million followers on Twitter,” Whitlock pointed out. “Doesn’t he have a moral responsibility to be informed and measured before commenting on a controversy that could inspire civil unrest? What’s the harm in waiting 48 hours, 72 hours or a week? Is James intentionally being used as an agent of chaos?”
Whitlock accused James’ rhetoric of racism, writing, “His logic is consistent with the logic of white bigots. James uses occasional anecdotes to make sweeping negative generalizations about white police officers.” He quoted James: “And y’all wonder why we say what we say about police?” adding, “James’ Twitter feed reads like a transcript from a KKK rally. Can’t you hear the Grand Wizard of the Klan shouting to his followers in the aftermath of O.J. Simpson? ‘And y’all wonder why we say what we say about black people?’”
Whitlock concluded:
LeBron James foolishly thinks he’s overseeing the police. He’s overseeing the black KKK. He’s promoting racism. He’s demonizing a group of white people based on the behavior of a few. As a black man that sort of racist tactic should be terrifying. That racist tactic was used to deny us freedom in this country …
Bigotry has subdued and detained LeBron James.Black Lives Matter is a clever Twitter hashtag designed to spread racial division. Twitter baits and rewards racial demagoguery. James is addicted to social media. His bigotry is no surprise.