Standing on Principle

Have you seen this picture:

That's LeBron James (just right of center, I believe) and the rest of the Miami Heat participating in the "I am Travyon Martin" protests that have been going on over the last few days across the country (see post of March 21 for a recap of the case).  In solidarity with the Martin family and in protest against the Sanford, Fla., police department's supposed "inability" even to arrest George Zimmerman for the highly questionable shooting of an unarmed teenager, the Heat and others have pulled up their hoodies to replicate the "suspicious" look of Travyon Martin before he was killed.

This picture is a particularly provocative and powerful image: Even though these professional basketball players probably all reside comfortably within the rarefied precincts of the "one percent," the sad reality is that, under the right (or, more accurately, "wrong") conditions, they, too, could easily find themselves confronted by a, shall we say, overzealous neighborhood watchman, and the result could be tragic.  We are all Travyon Martin; some of us more than others.

I've been down on LeBron ever since his infamous "I'm taking my talents to South Beach" press conference, but I'm impressed by his willingness to take a stand on this issue.  Some might argue that this is a minor gesture, but, frankly, it's rare for professional athletes to take stands on controversial issues; it's even rarer for prominent African-Americans to take stands on racially-charged controversial issues.  Michael Jordan, for example, was often criticized for not speaking out about racial injustice.

By participating in this kind of protest, LeBron has nothing to gain and potentially something to lose.  Yes, he gets some good press--particularly among the lefty liberal crowd--but the lefty liberals are not necessarily the ones who sign his paychecks or ink him to eight-figure endorsement deals. Potentially alienating corporate titans is not necessarily a smart move financially.  Don't get me wrong: I don't think LeBron James is in any particular danger of heading to the poorhouse.  Still, it's nice to see a prominent athlete taking a stand for what he believes in, even if it might cause him some problems down the road.

I'll bet he even gets some applause in Cleveland for this.  Okay, maybe not.