Will LeBron James Save Cleveland And The Convention?
This article originally appeared in Forbes.
Standing alongside three All-Star NBA players, LeBron James opened last night’s ESPYs by calling on the audience to do their part to stop violence. He urged all professional athletes to use this moment to, “educate ourselves, explore these issues, speak up, use our influence and renounce all violence. And most importantly, go back to our communities, invest our time, our resources, help rebuild them, help strengthen them, help change them. We all have to do better.”
With more than 2,000 Republican delegates and the national media descending on Cleveland next week, King James has a unique opportunity to lead by example. In the wake of recent shootings, many fear the upcoming Republican National Convention could become a rerun of Chicago in 1968.
What the country needs is leadership.
Elected politicians aren’t the only people we should look to for leadership. We all have a responsibility and duty to protect our nation. Born in Akron, James has the chance to demonstrate his love for Ohio once again.
James spent his first seven years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but left for Miami in search of an elusive NBA championship. To announce that he was “Coming Home” to Cleveland after four seasons and two championship rings with the Miami Heat, James wrote in Sports Illustrated:
“But this is not about the roster or the organization. I feel my calling here goes above basketball. I have a responsibility to lead, in more ways than one, and I take that very seriously. My presence can make a difference in Miami, but I think it can mean more where I’m from. I want kids in Northeast Ohio, like the hundreds of Akron third-graders I sponsor through my foundation, to realize that there’s no better place to grow up. Maybe some of them will come home after college and start a family or open a business. That would make me smile. Our community, which has struggled so much, needs all the talent it can get.”
This sounds like a man who loves Ohio.
And we all know he is a leader on the court. In the Cavaliers first title in franchise history, James averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per game in the NBA Finals. His team made more history, upsetting the 73-win Golden State Warriors and becoming the first team to ever rally back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals.
The city of Cleveland was desperate for sports success, long overdue to celebrate a title. This is Cleveland’s first major sports title in 52 years.
Off the court, the four-time NBA MVP is willing to speak up on issues where most athletes remain silent. He has a platform and he uses it to push issues that hit home to him.
In 2012, James organized the Miami Heat to wear hoodies as a tribute to Trayvon Martin. In 2014, he wore a shirt with the statement, “I can’t breathe,” at a game in Brooklyn, highlighting the last words of Eric Garner. Last fall, James made headlines calling on Cleveland to end gun violence after a six-month old baby was shot.
Last week, he tweeted “#AltonSterling” and “#PhilandoCastile,” and in the aftermath of Dallas, he tweeted, “We are all hurting tonight. More violence is not the answer. #StoptheViolence”
He is right. More violence is not the answer.
It is time for King James to show us he is really King of Cleveland. Wouldn’t it be great if James came out in defense — he has been named to the All-Defensive First Team five times, by the way — of Cleveland, not just as a city to raise your family or play basketball, but as a city that welcomes political diversity, discussion and debate? What would happen if he called for no violent protests at the Republican National Convention?
James worked to get then Democratic candidate Barack Obama elected President. But the issue of violent protests isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue. As Cleveland’s biggest star, he is positioned to call on the city to rise to the occasion during a time of national turmoil. While this effort may not have an effect in a lone wolf scenario, James might really be able to make a difference in whether a protest takes a violent turn.
James has truly invested in his community from funding student programs to most recently headlining a new show on CNBC, Cleveland Hustles, during which he will invest in entrepreneurs and help them revitalize a neighborhood in Cleveland.
The concern is real that there will be riots in Cleveland. We could have a repeat of the Democratic Convention of 1968. But this Midwestern city has a secret weapon—King James.
