This blog post is racist.

LeBron James, the master of public relations, is once again going after his critics, this time for their racist reaction to his megalomaniacal “Decision” show, in which he kicked dirt in the faces of his hometown fans.

James, on CNN, said that he thought racism played a role:

O’BRIEN (on camera): Do you think there’s a role that race plays in this.

JAMES: I think so at times. It’s always, you know, a race factor.

To be fair, James didn’t come out and say race played a role on his own; he was only responding to a question. Race very well may have played a role to some of his critics, but in the overheated world of race relations where Hallmark is racist for putting out a graduation card that refers to the science of “black holes,” its a weak card to play.

In fact, Charles Barkley, the expert on all things stupid, also said James’ comments were stupid:

“The only criticism I’ve heard about LeBron and it was my biggest criticism, that decision thing was just stupid. It was stupid.”

- Huffington Post

“It’s like watching a movie,” the Basketball Hall of Famer added. “Just when you think it couldn’t get any stupider, it gets more stupid.”

LeBron James doesn’t help the situation by referring to himself, again, in the third person:

“I say let’s do what LeBron James want to do what he feels is best.”

Of course, 95% of the NBA players who refer to themselves in the third-person are black, so I suppose I’m racist to criticize James for that. Best not to criticize any NBA player on a sports blog, even though the topic of conversation is sports.

This brings up the old adage of the “$40 million dollar slave”, an arguably racist phrase in and of itself, because it implies that slaves did not suffer but instead lead the high life. Yep, professional athletes get paid (millions of dollars) and then they have to play games and entertain fans and do other stuff that is in their job description, just like anyone else who holds any other job has to but for less pay. Most Americans are $50,000 slaves.

And because I have free choice and I pay athlete’s salaries, in part, though purchasing tickets and merchandise, I can decide whether I want to purchase LeBron-endorsed products or not, just like I can decide what movies to watch, what concerts to go to and what music to buy download.

LeBron can keep speaking his mind if he wants. He can even become a reformer against the evils of $40 million slaves. But he has indicated his desire in the past to be the first billionaire athlete. He’s not exactly concerned about social issues as much as he is concerned about LeBron James.

To say that LeBron is somehow entitled to have people continue to support him no matter what he says just because he is a professional athlete is like saying that people must read Juiced Sports Blog, even if they don’t like our articles or think that this particular article is racist. If you disagree or hate what I write, you would be right to stop reading it. You don’t owe me anything, and I don’t owe LeBron anything. (And LeBron doesn’t owe the Cavs anything, for that matter. He does whatever he thinks is in LeBron’s interests, but if his interests are in making money from endorsements, he is just not going in the right path right now.)

In fact, its not so much that LeBron mentioned race so much as it is that he continues to whine about the aftereffects of his leaving in the most publicized free agency move ever. Its a foregone conclusion that some fans will not be happy with their teams’ players leaving. It happens with every big name free agent, not just LeBron. LeBron ought to acknowledge the facts of the game–good or bad–and just move on.

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