LeBron James had a question for the media at the end of the post-game press conference after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 128-109 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The 37-year-old wanted to know why he had not been asked about a recently surfaced photograph showing Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, then 14, looking over a crowd of white students who were trying to block six Black students from entering North Little Rock High School in 1957.
Last month, The Washington Post published a story that shed light on Jones’ move of failing to hire Black coaches during his tenure owning the NFL franchise. Also, part of the story was a photo depicting a young Jones observing the harassment of the Black students.
LeBron discussing the double standard he sees between the media reaction to Kyrie vs Jerry Jones: "When we do something wrong, it's on every tabloid, I'm asked about it every single day," he said. With Jones, "it seems like it's been buried under"
📽️: @michaelcorvoNBA pic.twitter.com/EXqB1Fv4mZ
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) December 1, 2022
LeBron discussing the double standard he sees between the media reaction to Kyrie vs Jerry Jones: “When we do something wrong, it’s on every tabloid. I’m asked about it every single day,” he said. With Jones, “it seems like it’s been buried under”
James was a longtime Cowboys fan, even though he grew up in Cleveland, which has its own team, the Cleveland Browns. However, he eventually stopped rooting for the team and had his reasons.
LeBron James Says He Was Disappointed For Not Being Asked The Question
After patiently answering all the questions regarding the win, James, quite the crusader himself, pulled up the press with his question.
The Lakers superstar also compared it to Kyrie Irving’s suspension following his tweet promoting an antisemitic movie. There was much furor around the Brooklyn Nets guard’s controversy, and James used it as an example.
LeBron James questions the media and shares his thoughts on the Jerry Jones 1957 photo. pic.twitter.com/xbW9LyLicQ
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 1, 2022
“I got one question for you guys before you guys leave. I was thinking when I was on my way over here, I was wondering why I haven’t gotten a question from you guys about the Jerry Jones photo,” James said. “But when the Kyrie [Irving] thing was going on, you guys were quick to ask us questions about that.”
He also added:
“When I watch Kyrie talk and he says, ‘I know who I am, but I want to keep the same energy when we’re talking about my people and the things that we’ve been through,’ and that Jerry Jones photo is one of those moments that our people, Black people, have been through in America. And I feel like as a Black man, as a Black athlete, as someone with power and a platform, when we do something wrong, or something that people don’t agree with, it’s on every single tabloid, every single news coverage, it’s on the bottom ticker. It’s asked about every single day.
“But it seems like to me that the whole Jerry Jones situation, photo — and I know it was years and years ago and we all make mistakes, I get it — but it seems like it’s just been buried under, like, ‘Oh, it happened. OK, we just move on.’ And I was just kind of disappointed that I haven’t received that question from you guys.”
The Lakers surely star has a point, and he used the press conference as a platform to make his voice heard. The ramifications of this, though, remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Los Angeles will gear up to take on the Milwaukee Bucks next.
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