LeBron James: Race Played Role In 'Decision' Backlash

LeBron James appeared on the CNN program "Rick's List" on Wednesday night and the NBA superstar said he believes race was a factor in the negative feedback he received after "The Decision."

CNN correspondent Soledad O'Brien mentioned that James's brand and name were "tarnished" because of his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers in such a public fashion and asked if race played a role in the backlash.

"I think so at times," James replied. "It's always, you know, a race factor."

Maverick Carter, a 28-year-old who is one of James's closest advisers, said race "definitely played a role in some of the stuff coming out of the media, things that were written for sure."

According to James's recent Q scores, a measurement of popularity, his positive Q rating among African Americans dropped from 52 percent in January to 39 percent in September. His negative Q rating increased from 14 percent to 15 percent. Some believe race plays a role in these ratings.

Throughout the summer after James joined his friends Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, he received an enormous amount of criticism from past NBA stars, fans and his former employer, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert.

Following "The Decision," Gilbert wrote an open letter to Cavaliers fans and called James "narcissistic." Gilbert also wrote that LeBron's departure from his hometown was a "cowardly betrayal."

Rev. Jesse Jackson said he believes Gilbert's letter personified "a slave master mentality." Gilbert denied Jackson's claims and said his letter had nothing to do with slavery.

Comments

[PoliticalMMA]

08:39 PM on 10/19/2010

I guess Lebron was right. Those racist tweets he got proved he and Maverick's point

[DingoBuzzy]

08:40 PM on 10/12/2010

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/12/brett-favre-refuses-to-ad_n_759211.html

Yeah, Brett Favre really gets off light.

[SportsChump]

12:59 PM on 10/06/2010

Look, O’Brien, had no business asking that question in the first place, but where was Maverick to shield LeBron from a question such as this. Within a month, James has gone from being one of the country’s most revered athletes to one of its most resented. And Maverick Carter has been in the drivers seat for all of it. James would be better off taking advice from Nell Carter.

http://sportschump.net/2010/10/06/who-the-hell-is-maverick-carter/4646/

[calindi]

06:13 PM on 10/04/2010

You see what you look for, LeBron.

[Darcman]

11:59 PM on 10/20/2010

We are just one big happy family in America aren't we?

[tice]

03:41 PM on 10/04/2010

If a white dude made the same childish spectacle to give his home state a televised FU he would have caught the same flack.

[TILL]

11:50 AM on 10/02/2010

His answer is appropriate. He has to answer the question yes or no. He said there was probably a race factor. Some will vilify him because he's black, others Not. I think it an astute answer. James is not playing the race card nor is he placing much emphasis on race. But he doesn't avoid the hard question, give him credit. I can see why he does need to have a close relationship with some in the media, in order to counter a lot of bad press he's getting. Remember he has feelings,too. Not much different than our own.

[Totto]

12:02 PM on 10/02/2010

He expressed his feelings, and certainly race did play a part.
F&F!

[RagingWaters]

09:16 AM on 10/02/2010

If you would allow me please, which is the color of the skin of the traitor concerned the similars, Art Modell?

The unique color of the skin of people, the Lebron James and the Art Modell, is yellow.

Thanks.”

[Lee Campbell]

11:25 PM on 10/01/2010

My problem is this. We need to listen to the entire interview then comment. You may have a different opinion if you do so. Sometimes these articles can be written in a way that makes you form the opinion of the writer.

[cjsamms]

11:19 PM on 10/03/2010

Anything written on a blog site needs to be fact-checked by the reader before commenting. The real problem is that most people -- like the bloggers themselves -- just read a couple of lines and jump to conclusions.

[DamienThorne]

10:56 PM on 10/01/2010

What we see here is direct result of this current political climate. It fuels this type of dismissive attitude toward a person of color and questions their mental capacity when speaking about issues of race. It usually includes the annoying use of the intellectually lazy, but effective accusation of playing the race card. That term has become insidious because it allows the person using it to completely dismiss the validity of the minorities issue therefore avoiding any reason to discuss any issues of race. Must feel pretty cool to have a privilege that allows a member of the majority to control any debate to only include issues that will benefit them or their cause.So does that mean you will know a person of colors daily reality better than they do?. Thats might superior of you. Are their instances when minorities blame a result on racism and it's not? Of Course, they are usually arguing with the people who always accuse minorities of playing the race card. Actually, the notion that a single card in a stacked deck giving the user an advantage is completely mental. Must be that privilege again, that allows one to see what they want. I also would ask people of color to think twice about embracing and using a term that by design completely takes away your ability to describe what many of you feel in your every day life. Playing the race card? Child Please

[Diasamax]

10:11 PM on 10/01/2010

I lost complete respect for this man because of the tasteless way he decided to leave Cleveland. All he had to do was be a true professional and trade without all the unneeded hype. This man is so full of himself he had to have a special interview/press show to announce it. Then all the bruhahaha when he put on the new uniform.

This is one time I truly hope that his old team crushes him. It takes a team to win championships, not one man. He is not all that, if he was, he would have the ring by now! His arrogance sets a very poor example for young men out there who want to play sports. His sportsmanship is horrible in every sense of the word!

[HouseProletariat]

04:28 PM on 10/01/2010

LeBron's popularity dropped for the same reason as PeeWee Herman.

Overexposure. (rim-shot)

I'm not implying that racism doesn't affect the visceral reactions of every human, even those that try their hardest to be egalitarian; I'm just noting that he put himself in a position where he was destined to disappoint more people than he pleased. To place the blame on the generic racism of the masses - rather than a marketing faux pas from within his own camp - degrades the true victims of racism in our society. You know, the people that are marginalized because they lack power.

Smile; be nice; take responsibility for your situation without blaming others; play good ball.
America will be falling over itself in love with you again, LeBron.

[dct1999]

06:39 PM on 10/01/2010

He said racism was a factor. That's an accurate statement. The people hyperventilating over it are as comical as the ones who lost their minds when he left Cleveland.

[fabiantahoma]

03:48 PM on 10/01/2010

lebron james he better do good with heat

[ScottV]

03:02 PM on 10/01/2010

It's all GREEN to me.

[Tyrone Luckett]

02:26 PM on 10/01/2010

Everybody knew James was leaving Cleveland. He is young and want a ring. The fans of Ceveland should be mad at the onwer for not getting James any help. THAT WHAT REAL FANS DO!!!!!

[fabiantahoma]

03:50 PM on 10/01/2010

your wrong he wasnt going to leave. they gave cleavland lots of chances to get him. Cleveland fans should be mad at themselves for being mad at Lebron in high school

[Minnehaha]

07:09 PM on 10/01/2010

What you are saying makes no sense at all fabiantahoma. Kids tease each other all the time. My son was into basketball and we went to Akron all the time for games and the kids from Akron came to Cleveland to play. They are all adults now and still friends. Lebron is just full of it. The two cities are less than 20 minutes apart for real, this is complete nonsense.

[Tyrone Luckett]

02:12 PM on 10/01/2010

I am a big fan of James but this is below his standard. If you have problems in your life pull the race card. We got to stop using race every time things don't go our way.

[Citizen-Jane]

06:23 PM on 10/01/2010

In a perfect world yeah you'd be right. However, the overreacting be some makes you makes one think that he has brought about the end of the world. For what?!? The execution and the delivery was not to their liking? Wah.

This man honored his contract for seven years and decided to move on. Did that warrant Jersey burning or practically rioting in the streets. He hinted two years ago that he was unhappy in Cleveland. It's not his fault that people didn't believe him. Also the Knick fans are mad for selfish reasons, and the Cleveland fans showed their @ss during the playoffs.....So much for loyalty.

I'm in the minority, but I think that he made the right decision. Move on. Play with for people that you want to play for/with. These men want to win championships which means competing with the Lakers. Take less money to achieve that goal. Kept his word to friends. And he put himself in best position for getting a ring. (Cleveland sure as h#ll did nothing to help him there.) The NBA is a business always treat it as such. Loyalty is for family and good friends.

And as for the upcoming season I can only imagine how many people who will tune in and or turn up to boo him. Great for the NBA and fans.

Those who boycott aren't basketball fans so who cares. People around the world will be watching. Wish u lots of luck James.

[dct1999]

06:41 PM on 10/01/2010

Well said. There are numerous Americans who are simply incapable of acknowledging the reality of racism. The rage against Lebron is completely out of proportion to the situation.

A basketball player left town, that's all that happened.