LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers visited the White House on Thursday to celebrate their NBA championship with Barack Obama. While it was a great day for them, filled with classic Obama moments, it was hard to shake the feeling that in a few short months, Donald Trump would ascend to the office. And there’s obviously some doubt about whether any team would visit after the Cavs in the next few years.
LeBron himself isn’t sure if he would go back should he win another title with Trump in office, as he told the Akron Beacon-Journal.
“I don’t know. That’s something I would cross,” James said Friday. “We’ll have to cross that road, I guess. We’ll see. I would love to have to cross that road.”
It’s an impossible problem for people of color, who are the vast majority of athletes in any sport major enough to merit a White House visit. Meeting a president has always been a great honor, and a hell of a perk for any champion athlete, but when the president is the leader of a white nationalist movement and a figurehead for a new wave of hate crimes perpetrated by those emboldened by his victory. It’s understandable that LeBron is conflicted.
That said, LeBron is willing to give this thing a shot.
“He’s our president. And no matter if you agree with it or disagree with it, he’s the guy and we all have to figure out a way that we can make America as great as it can be,” James said. “We all have to do our part. Our nation has never been built on one guy, anyway. It’s been built on multiple guys, multiple people in power, multiple people having a dream and making it become a reality by giving back to the community, giving back to the youth, doing so many great things.
“Obviously we always had a guy that has the No. 1 position of power, and that’s the President of the United States, but it’s never been built on one guy. So we all have to figure out a way that we can better our country because we all know that and we all feel it. This is the best country in the world, so we all have to do our part. It’s not about him at all. Especially not for me and what I do.”
Of course, there’s also a chance he isn’t conflicted, and is merely unwilling to admit that he won’t attend until it’s necessary. And considering LeBron has been preaching a message of unity, that’s understandable too.
(Via Akron Beacon-Journal)
