*Fox Sports 1 broadcaster Jason Whitlock’s response to LeBron James’ reaction about his house being vandalized with a racial slur has ignited a firestorm on social media.
From Whitlock’s point-of-view, James shouldn’t complain about racism in America because he’s rich and therefore does not truly understand the struggle.
“I get when I was a young person people called me a bad name — the n-word, whatever — it hurt my feelings. But did it stop me from rising? Hell no! Did it stop LeBron James? And LeBron’s comment about ‘no matter how rich you are, no matter how famous you are, it’s tough being black in America. That is a lie. It’s not tough being Oprah Winfrey. It’s not tough being LeBron James. It’s not tough being Jason Whitlock,” said Whitlock.
His opinion, expressed on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” earned Whitlock a stern sideye from fans and colleagues alike, including a rebuke from Martellus Bennett.
The Packers tight end took to Twitter to call Whitlock’s comments “ridiculous” and “ludicrous.” The series of tweets even caught the attention of Whitlock.
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Whitlock and Cowherd had been discussing James’s response to the discovery that the n-word was spray-painted on the gate of his off season home in Los Angeles.
In a news conference in Oakland, James told reporters, “No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is tough.”
“It just goes to show that racism will always be a part of the world, a part of America,” James added. “And, you know, hate in America, especially for African Americans, is living every day. And even though that it’s concealed most of the time, even though people hide their faces and will say things about you, and when they see you, they smile in your face, it’s alive every single day.”
James compared modern day racism to that of the tragic story of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old boy from Chicago who was brutally attacked and killed in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman during a visit to Mississippi. His mother insisted on having an open casket at the funeral, so attendees could see what race-based hatred had done to her son.
“The people that murdered Emmett Till got off, an all-white jury let them off; there was no real investigation, the whole town was against him. LeBron’s $20 million Brentwood home gets vandalized and I see two or three police cars trying to get to the bottom of it,” Whitlock said Thursday. “LeBron’s staff, I’m sure, cleaned up the spray paint within hours. This ain’t Emmett Till.”
Whitlock said the racist vandalism was simply “a disrespectful inconvenience” for James, who he said had “fallen into the far-left trap of there’s value in embracing your victimhood.”
“Racism is an issue in America but is primarily an issue for the poor. It’s not LeBron James’ issue,” Whitlock said. “He has removed himself from the damages and the ravages of real racism.”
“You don’t become out of racism’s reach because you’ve cashed a few checks,” Bennett said on Twitter. “Racism don’t give a s— you still a n—- in that Benz.”
“You still a n—- in that mansion in racism’s eyes,” Bennett tweeted. “For [a] dude to sit on national television and basically say that Oprah, himself and LeBron are a different black from everyone else is ludicrous.”
“Racism is a living organism. A parasite. That continues to find new hosts everyday,” Bennett said Thursday, adding, “You ain’t special because you got money. Let’s rebuild our communities not talk down on ’em.”
Do you agree with Whitlock that rich black folks complaining about racism takes the spotlight off the systematic injustice affecting the poor?
For him to even suggest that because LeBron is rich shields him from racism is preposterous & just plain dumb. https://t.co/uyDhIURrbH
— @ItsMikeHill (@ItsMikeHill) June 1, 2017
His analogy to Till wasn’t comparing the severity of the crime but LeBron, like Till’s mother, using this to bring attention to the matter https://t.co/uyDhIURrbH
— @ItsMikeHill (@ItsMikeHill) June 1, 2017
I’d say Jason’s rhetoric is way more damaging than anything LeBron said yesterday. Once again, same network, FAR DIFFERENT views. Smh https://t.co/uyDhIURrbH
— @ItsMikeHill (@ItsMikeHill) June 1, 2017
