LeBron is the NBA's biggest ambassador since Michael Jordan, but is just as apolitical? (Getty Images)
NEW YORK -- When unrest erupts in a society struggling with issues of race, sports often serves as a sounding board. Sometimes, a helpful and intelligent one, and sometimes not.
There are a few facts about the NBA that place the sport's biggest stars on the public stage more than stars from any other sport. Though it's truly a global game, the vast majority of players are black. They play almost every night, with no helmets to conceal their faces. Every game can be viewed by anyone with an Internet connection, not just those on national TV. And with ample media interview opportunities that helped grow the game over the decades, players have microphones, cameras and recorders in their midst as many as three times on a game day.
So it is with LeBron James, the prism through which all basketball commentary flows. So it was with James on Thursday in New York, when he was asked once again after the Cleveland Cavaliers' shootaround ahead of their nationally televised game against the New York Knicks for his opinions about police violence, race and protests that have ranged from peaceful to destructive.
James weighed in, thoughtfully and carefully.
"It's a sensitive subject right now," James said. "Violence is not the answer; retaliation isn't the solution. As a society, we just have to do better."
There's nothing to argue about in those words, and that's part of the point with James, the most prominent basketball player on the planet. On one hand, he is reluctant to insert himself into a controversy that could easily leave him branded as being on one side or the other. (Republicans buy shoes, too, as Michael Jordan once famously said.)
On the other hand, James has no choice. He isn't Charles Barkley, whose job it is to give opinions. But his stature in the game, as the most prominent athlete in the United States and as a black man makes his opinions on racial issues resonate. All of those things also compel him to lend his voice to issues of greater social significance than the Cavaliers' pick-and-roll defense.
"It doesn't matter if you're an athlete or not," James said. "If you feel passionate about it or it hits home for you, then you have the right to speak upon it. That's why we have freedom of speech. I've never shied away for something that I feel for or people or families that I feel for. That's just who I am. But I don't think we should add pressure to anybody, first of all, that doesn't have the knowledge about it, that's not educated upon it to speak about something you don't know about. If you feel passionate about it, you speak about it. If not, don't worry about it."
Barkley drew rebukes from TNT co-host Kenny Smith and former NBA player and social activist Etan Thomas over comments he made in a CNN interview and others in support of law enforcement in the wake of decisions by grand juries in St. Louis County, Mo., and Staten Island, N.Y., not to render indictments in the deaths of black men at the hands of white police officers. Barkley also called the looters who'd burned property and trashed businesses in Ferguson "scumbags."
This is what Barkley gets paid to do, render opinions. James gets paid to play basketball and sell merchandise for Nike, though he's done a better job over the years of understanding that the job description must be about more than that.
In 2012, James posed with his Miami Heat teammates while all were wearing hoodies in a show of support for Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager slain by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman in Florida. In July 2013, Zimmerman was found not guilty, setting off national protests.
This was a far cry from James' reluctance to get involved with teammate Ira Newble's efforts in 2007 to put professional athletes' signatures on an open letter to the Chinese government urging it to stop funding genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan. James declined to sign it, citing "basically not having enough information."
Not enough information can't be an excuse now; information is available 24-7, in any form we want it. And now that he's playing in his home state of Ohio again, James can't help but be familiar with the case of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was fatally shot last month by a Cleveland police officer when he reached into his waistband for what turned out to be a pellet gun.
"Our country is the land of the free, and to keep having these incidents happen -- innocent victims or whatever the case may be -- families are losing loved ones," James said. "I'm not pointing the blame at anybody that's making it happen. I think society has come a long way but it just goes to show how much further we still have to go."
James' cautious words harkened back to Jordan's reluctance to get involved in political or social causes during his own Hall of Fame career. Activism isn't a requirement for superstar athletes, but inaction can speak volumes, too. By speaking on the issues without discussing blame or inflaming the problem further with incendiary rhetoric, James is testing his voice -- and its power.
It reminds me of a conversation I had with former Celtics and Heat star Ray Allen in 2009 for a story about what James could do -- both on and off the court -- to someday surpass Michael Jordan's legacy. What Allen said had nothing to do with points, rebounds, triple-doubles or sneaker sales.
"Mike paved the way for all of us to open up the endorsement door," Allen said. "But the one thing that Mike never was is political. I think in today's era, the NBA player has an even greater podium if he chooses to use it. And with Barack Obama being the first black president, it's a great forum. I think that would separate him from anybody who's done this. ... It's great to be a basketball player, but to transcend sports is a big responsibility. If he were able to pull that off -- if he wants to pull that off -- I think that would set him apart."
It would. But on this particular topic, wouldn't it be unfair to hold James to a higher standard than he applies to everyone else? If you're passionate and knowledgeable about it, have your say. If not, you shouldn't be compelled to.
Frankly, if more people followed that advice, the national dialogue would be a lot smarter.
Before joining CBSSports.com, Ken Berger covered the NBA for Newsday. The Long Island, N.Y., native has also worked for the Associated Press and can be seen on SportsNet New York. Catch Ken every Saturday, when he hosts Eye on Basketball from 6-8 p.m. ET on cbssportsradio.comBasketball Hot News
Dion Waiters on recent struggles: “It ain’t about me right now”
Dion Waiters was expected to be a major contributor for the Cavs this season, a complimentary scorer filling in the gaps alongside LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. But so far, he has struggled to find a consistent role on his retooled team. He’s shooting under 40 percent from the field and under 30 percent from three-point range on the season and right now, he’s just trying to look at the big picture and get past his individual struggles.
From ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin:
“It’s all right. We’re winning,” Waiters told ESPN.com following Cavs shootaround Thursday. “It ain’t about me right now. It’s not about me. As long as we’re winning (I’m fine).”
Waiters and his coach, David Blatt, have apparently had private discussions and have a plan set out to get Waiters to be more productive.
“Any other place, it’d be probably different, but here I got to take that role of coming off the bench,” Waiters said. “I’m very confident in myself. You know what I can do, I mean, as far as the skill set. It’s just about how you involve me.”
He and Blatt have worked on a plan to bust the slump. Now it’s time to set it in motion.
“We talked. We talked,” Waiters said. “And he said he’ll try to run more plays for me. We got to wait. We talked about it. It’s just about when it’s going to happen.”
Waiters was always going to have to accept a diminished role after the arrival of the best player in the world in James and another superstar in Love. If he wants to stay a productive member of a championship team, he’s going to have to embrace that role. Otherwise, the Cavaliers may be forced to look for a trade partner.
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