The single individual who by far possesses the most power to potentially prevent a violent uprising in Cleveland isn’t a politician, preacher or community activist … it’s of course LeBron “King” James, and there’s really no need to go into details explaining his enormous ability to perhaps control outcomes by influencing the youth of Greater Cleveland. Yeah, he’s got it like that — indeed, like no other.
Since the beginning of professional sports, when players first became iconic and heroic figures in American culture, the unwritten rule was they kept their mouths shut and just entertained by playing the game to the best of their ability. And indeed, virtually without exception, they all were more than willing to comply during their playing days, and usually after their careers ended.
But all of that changed when ballers around the NBA donned hoodies in the wake of the killing of Trayvon Martin, and it was reinforced when a number of players in other sports publicly wore “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” t-shirts protesting the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
No amount of fretting by sports agents (who still are deathly afraid that one of their superstar players will become less marketable by speaking out on incendiary issues) or frowning by team owners and league officials (who are fearful of fan backlash) stopped a handful of professional athletes — LeBron prominently among them —from exercising their First Amendment rights. And, in spite of dire predictions from those who wish they would remain silent, using their influence on the soapbox provided by huge arenas and dozens of TV cameras did no damage to their careers.
Indeed, times have changed and a stirring of social conscience is increasingly being noticed among athletes who have rightly come to the conclusion that money isn’t everything, and their elevated status doesn’t relieve them of their civic responsibilities; their obligation to their race. There could be a new breed of professional athlete in the making, especially among athletes of color who are increasingly realizing they can use their influence to improve the lot of their less fortunate and gifted brethren.
What effect would it have if King James were to speak up in a post-game interview and implore young Clevelanders to only protest peacefully, to eschew violence, no matter the outcome of the high profile criminal cases about to be adjudicated? Would they take heed? Would it help if some of his teammates made similar pleas?
But therein could lay the rub, and here’s why: Athletes love to win. And if, even in spite of LeBron speaking out for calm, violence were to still erupt in Cleveland, it’s a given that some pundits would lay the blame at his feet, positing that the outcome was his fault since he was not able to prevent it. While such a characterization would be grossly unfair, we already know it’s not a fair world out there, especially in the white-hot glare of the media.
Nonetheless, we can only hope that the French concept of noblesse oblige — that nobility extends beyond mere entitlements and requires the person with such status to fulfill social responsibilities, particularly in leadership roles — is still operative in this day and age, and that King James attempts to do what perhaps no other mortal in Cleveland can: Use his bully pulpit to try to successfully keep the peace.
[Photo by Keith Allison/Flickr]
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.