As the NBA biggest global superstar, LeBron James has a lot of power when it comes to major issues in the National Basketball Association.
When Adam Silver began scraping together the plan for this Orlando restart, LeBron was a part of the process, and he helped give a voice to his fellow players.
And when league-wide boycotts replaced the regularly-scheduled playoff games on Wednesday and Thursday, LeBron was naturally a part of the discussion when talks surfaced about what to do next.
While the exact details of his part in all of this remain unknown, we do know that he made several demands in a conference call with league owners on Thursday.
“Sources say LeBron James was the last player to speak on the call and he delivered a strong, thoughtful message to the owners,” Rooks reported.
“His main point was that the work has to continue, and the owners have to truly dedicate to advancing this cause.”
Despite the platform and the millions of dollars these players earn, the owners have an even stronger ability to create change in our society. They’ve got connections on all sides of the aisle and near-limitless resources to spread the NBA’s agenda, and LeBron wants them to use it.
Obviously, players feel the owners haven’t been doing enough to advocate and support the black community.
The question now is, will this actually inspire real solutions? With playoff action expected to resume on Friday, the impact of the boycotts has yet to be seen. If the players feel content with drawing awareness to the issue, then who should be most responsible for bringing about tangible change?
Because, in the end, none of this matters if everything stays the same.
