LeBron James doubled down strongly on his criticism of President Donald Trump during Cleveland Cavaliers media day on Monday, saying he didn’t regret calling Trump a bum in the wake of the president uninviting the Warriors and Steph Curry to the White House. James went on to say that Trump doesn’t understand the power that he has as president and that he doesn’t care about bringing the country together.
“He doesn’t understand the power that he has, for being the leader of this beautiful country,” James said. “He doesn’t understand how many kids, no matter the race, look up to the President of the United States for guidance, for leadership, for words of encouragement. He doesn’t understand that, and that’s what makes me more sick than anything, that this is the number-one position in the world … And we are at a time where the most powerful position in the world has an opportunity to bring us closer together as people, and inspire the youth, and put the youth at ease on saying that, ‘It is OK for me to walk down the street and not be judged because of the color of my skin or because of my race.’ And he has no recognition of that. And he doesn’t even care. Maybe he does, but he doesn’t care.”
Drag him, LeBron pic.twitter.com/kChZVetSv6
— Dieter Kurtenbach (@dkurtenbach) September 25, 2017
On Tuesday, longtime Bay Area columnist Marcus Thompson joined the Murph & Mac Show, and said that James’ willingness to take such a strong stance has set him apart from other great NBA players, including Michael Jordan.
“For him to take this stance, take this voice, for me, as the totality of an athlete, for me this puts him ahead of (Michael) Jordan,” Thompson said. “I remember growing up when kids were getting robbed for Jordans (shoes). I remember that. I literally got robbed for my Starter jacket and my friend got robbed for his Jordans at the Coliseum Bart Station, and I remember parents and people complaining about Jordan for the shoes being too (expensive), and him being like ‘Republicans wear sneakers too.’ Contrast that with LeBron standing up at the ESPYs, using racial epithets painted on his wall to make a statement, going after the president. This dude has raised the bar for superstars in a way that we just complained about it 10 years ago how athletes wouldn’t do. So now if you’re a superstar you can’t sit there and be quiet because LeBron is raising the bar. For me to watch this little kid grow from 16 years old playing AAU at Cal with the Oakland Soldiers, to a guy now standing out front for what is right, I’m proud of him for doing that. It’s insane that he’s willing to put everything on the line to go at Donald Trump. Forget all the stuff about his rivalry with the Warriors, and how he does some things on the court that you don’t like, you’ve got to appreciate him for doing what he’s doing right now.”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear MT2’s comments on LeBron, skip to the 1:25 mark.