LeBron James is known as the king.
The 6’8”, 250lb small (point) forward is one of the biggest faces in sports worldwide.
And “The King” just made a bold move to celebrate equality.
LeBron always chimes in on controversial issues.
To be fair, as one of the greatest basketball players in the world, many journalists seek out his opinion on controversial subjects because it becomes headline news.
When James played for the Miami Heat, he gave tribute to Trayvon Martin – the 17-year-old Florida kid who was shot by security guard George Zimmerman.
James also defended his Golden State Warriors blood rival, Steph Curry, when President Trump disinvited the two-time MVP after he had disrespected the honor of being invited to the White House to celebrate the Warriors most recent championship.
James tweeted:
U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain’t going! So therefore ain’t no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 23, 2017
So does James feel like he’s an ambassador? Of course.
But does the media allow him to be an ambassador even though he’s often out of line and sticks his nose where it doesn’t belong? Also, true.
And James, clearly being aware of his symbolic status in society, recently took his ambassadorship to a new level when he wore one white shoe and one black with “equality” written in large, gold lettering.
Subtle they were not.
ABC News reports:
“ LeBron James joked that he changed out of his shoes — one black, one white, with “equality” in gold capital letters — at halftime because he was playing poorly.
“If that’s a bad game,” teammate Kevin Love said, “then sheesh!”
James finished with 20 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Washington Wizards 106-99 on Sunday night for their 18th victory in 19 games, and then said afterward his choice of footwear was related to the game being played about a mile from President Donald Trump’s White House.
“This is a beautiful country and we’re never going to let one person dictate how beautiful and how powerful we are,” the four-time NBA MVP said.
James had his fourth triple-double in the past five games despite being called for four fouls in the final quarter. Still, he offered a scathing self-critique.
“I actually played pretty bad tonight. I wasn’t as strong with the ball: I had six turnovers. Kind of lazy with the ball, at times,” James said. “And my teammates did a great job bailing me out.”
“He just affects the game in so many ways and makes a lot of plays for other guys, too,” Love said about James. “He’s just setting us up and getting us into our spots. That’s what he does. He’s our leader.”
Here’s a look at the shoes:
LeBron James wears “equality” shoes — one black, one white, with “equality” in gold capital letters — during game, saying afterward his choice of footwear was related to the game being played about a mile from President Trump’s White House https://t.co/2Bw883DiIF pic.twitter.com/Hz937vMHSM
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 18, 2017
LeBron spoke about what the shoes meant to him after the game:
LeBron James wore “Equality” shoes in #AllForOne W at #DCFamily. After the game he explained what Equality means: “we’ll never let one person dictate how beautiful and powerful we are as people”. Full quotes here #NBA pic.twitter.com/QR0e7AmUvJ
— Davide Chinellato (@dchinellato) December 18, 2017
LeBron James isn’t Martin Luther King Jr., but his conceitedness makes one question whether he thinks he is.