LeBron James has constantly used his platform to push a political agenda.
The politicization of sports is due in large part to James.
But James is quiet on one shocking move Nike just made.
NBA superstar LeBron James routinely inserts himself into political discussions.
That has been the case ever since 2016 when he campaigned for Hillary Clinton in Ohio.
But James is conspicuously quiet on certain issues.
For example, James has largely been silent on Nike’s business dealings, particularly with regard to China.
Nike just announced it was leaving Russia due to the war in Ukraine, but has refused to adequately address its partnership with China.
From Reuters:
“Nike is making a full exit from Russia three months after suspending its operations there, the U.S. sportswear maker told Reuters on Thursday, as the pace of Western companies leaving the country accelerates…For Nike, which gets less than 1% of its revenue from Ukraine and Russia combined, the move is largely symbolic rather than material to its results. The company has a history of taking a stand on social and political issues. It supported American football quarterback Colin Kaepernick in his decision to kneel during the U.S. national anthem as a protest against racism and dropped Brazilian soccer star Neymar last year because he refused to cooperate in an investigation into sexual assault allegations.”
It’s understandable why Nike would leave Russia, especially given threats from the government to confiscate assets, but Nike does not seem to have any issues with the Chinese Communist Party, which is every bit as authoritarian.
Nike wrote in a statement, “Nike has made the decision to leave the Russian marketplace. Our priority is to ensure we are fully supporting our employees while we responsibly scale down our operations over the coming months.”
Nike is dependent on the Chinese market, so they will not take a stand against the country, but condemning the American government is no problem for the company.
Attacking America counts as currency for leftists.
James has actually done worse than remain neutral on the issue of human rights abuses in China; he actively scolded former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey for expressing tepid support for pro-freedom protesters in Hong Kong.
Security forces in Mainland China have essentially overtaken Hong Kong, breaking the promise of “one country, two systems” after the United Kingdom ceded Hong Kong as a protectorate.
James called Morey, a Northwestern and MIT graduate, “uneducated” on the matter.
James’s paymasters at Nike deployed him to shut Morey up, who nearly got run out of the league for his opinion.
James will always attack soft targets with his mind-numbing political takes.
He gets a pat on the back for saying black people are being “hunted” in America, but would not dare call out the veritable concentration camps that are operating in China.
Taking a stance that will rankle The New York Times is difficult.
Lazily calling America “racist” is too easy.