After LeBron James scored a superefficient 31 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 128-109 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, he fielded the usual basketball-related questions during his postgame presser.
But when it ended, he asked the journalists present why none of them had asked him about a photo of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones from 1957 that recently surfaced.
"I feel like, as a black man as a black athlete, as someone with power…when we do something wrong…every single news coverage, it’s on the bottom ticker…Seems like to me that the whole Jerry Jones situation…seemed like it just been buried under.” pic.twitter.com/qs2r4HubmF
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) December 1, 2022
The photo in question stems from Jones’ time as a student at North Little Rock High School in Arkansas. In that picture, he appears to be part of a mob of Caucasians who were preventing a group of Black students from entering the school.
Here's the photo that LeBron just ranted about.
Jerry Jones is seemingly a part of a white crowd trying to prevent desegregation from happening at a school. pic.twitter.com/EbWCg3wZIW
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) December 1, 2022
The incident came shortly after the Supreme Court ruled that America’s public schools had to be desegregated.
Race relations have always been a problem, but they have seemingly gotten reignited in recent years amidst a spike in racism, anti-Semitism and overall bigotry, not only in person but also throughout social media.
James has become known as an activist who constantly fights for social justice, especially for Black people. He has not exactly been shy about his opinions on various racial issues, especially systemic racism in law enforcement and some high-profile shootings and killings of Black individuals at the hands of police officers.
He has drawn criticism from conservatives who would prefer that athletes and celebrities never talk about racial or political issues. However, there is no doubt that these issues must be brought to the general public’s awareness, especially by those who have the type of name recognition and platform that James has.
On the court, the four-time MVP has been looking to help the Lakers rebound from a dismal 2-10 start.
He missed five games recently with a strained adductor, but since coming back, he has largely been on his game, which has helped the team win three of its last four games.
On Wednesday, James was scorching from the outside, as he went 6-of-8 from 3-point land to fuel a big third quarter for the Lakers.
