Lebron James Speaks on Tamir Rice...

[ThaNubianGod]

DENVER -- LeBron James spoke publicly Tuesday for the first time since a grand jury declined Monday to press charges against the police officers responsible for the November 2014 shooting death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old Cleveland native.

James said he was slow to react to the news because he was not informed on all the details pertaining to the case, but activists have started a social media campaign calling for James to sit out games in protest of the grand jury decision.

"For me, I've always been a guy who's took pride in knowledge of every situation that I've ever spoke on," James said following the Cavs' win over the Denver Nuggets. "And to be honest, I haven't really been on top of this issue. So it's hard for me to comment. I understand that any lives that [are] lost, what we want more than anything is prayer and the best for the family, for anyone. But for me to comment on the situation, I don't have enough knowledge about it."

James has become more and more outspoken regarding social issues facing the United States in recent years. His willingness to comment on issues, coupled with his immense fame and influence, caused activist and writer Tariq Touré to create the Twitter hashtag #NoJusticeNoLeBron, calling for James to sit in protest of the outcome of the Rice case. The hashtag was embraced by Black Lives Matter activists and gained moderate traction online.

James said that, just like the particulars of the investigation into the police officers' actions against Rice, he was not fully informed about the calls for him to personally protest the lack of an indictment.

"I caught a little bit of it from my folks on the side saying that you guys might ask me about it, but I have no knowledge," James said. "I'm not much of a social media guy. I'm on it, for sure, but I'm not always looking at what's going on in it."

A reporter later asked what James could do, as someone in his position, to help enact the social change he wants to see in this country.

"First of all, I think I've been very outspoken about what I believe in," James said. "What hits home for me, what I am [knowledgeable] about. There's been so many more issues that's gone on that I haven't spoken about.

"There's been the San Bernardino massacre, there's been guys going in movie theaters, shooting up movie theaters, there's been other issues. Those are not something that ... I don't have much knowledge of so I don't speak about it. So for me ... if I feel like it's something that I have a lot of knowledge about [I'll add my voice to the issue], because I don't like to speak when I don't know about it.

"But I think the most important thing that we all need to understand, the most important thing, this issue is bigger than LeBron. This issue is bigger than me; it's about everyone. And gun violence and tragedies and kids losing lives at a young age, some way, somehow we need to understand that that matters more than just an individual."

James has lent his support to social issues in the past, starting in March 2012, when he and then-teammate Dwyane Wade organized a photo of the entire Miami Heat team wearing hooded sweatshirts, the same style of hoodie Trayvon Martin was wearing when he was shot by George Zimmerman. James posted the photo to social media along with the hashtag #wearetrayvonmartin.

Last season, James displayed a similar social consciousness, commenting on the death of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and joining dozens of other NBA players in wearing an "I can't breathe" T-shirt during pregame warm-ups to identify with supporters of Eric Garner, another black man killed during a confrontation with police.

In October, he took to Twitter to offer his condolences on the death of a 5-month-old girl, Aavielle Wakefield, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Cleveland. He later elaborated on his stance, saying, "There's no room for" gun violence.

Thoughts...

What does Ja Rule think?

 

[Brother_Five]

He shouldn't be pressured into making statements or taking a stand.

That being said, he should also never be mentioned in the same breath as Ali...

 

[blackrain]

Better to admit you don't know than try to pretend you do and sound like an idiot. Though i do wonder how he don't know at least basic information about it by now

 

[The_Jackal]

LeBron always been a stand up guy as far as social issues go

 

[jetlifebih]

Don't expect lebron to do anything but be lebron

It's gonna take more than a basketball player to make a change, blacks have have other public figures with just as big as a influence who have taken on these issues head on and have been killed for it, and no change has occurred, stop looking outward for freedom and look inside

I feel like people shouldn't ask white people to change or ask lebron or other celebs to do stuff for them, get up get out and gon get it

 

[D. Morgan]

He said a whole lot of nothing IMO

 

[playmaker88]

Here are mines everyone was back slapping Lebron for throwing on a Hoody and a T-shirt.. and praising him as a leader in social justice in the sports arena.. . Wrongfully... because he never fully articulated like SOME other athletes have. Basically hes is saying ..."thats messed up" .. Its shame tbh especially coming from that area being in that area. He should have never been touted as something he isn't.. its inexcusable for something like this that had national international attention to happen in your backyard yet you have nothing substantive to say..

If you throw on that Hoody to make a statement.. make....a STATEMENT

 

[kzzl]

Sounds like ignorance as an excuse. Keeps him from taking sides and safe from any back lash.

 

[babelipsss]

Why LeBron? He's a basketball player, not a political leader. Halle Berry is from Cleveland too, but I don't expect her to solve it either.

 

[Ajackson17]

Sara Suten Seti words are more meaningful to me than anyone else's when it concerns this.

 

[white sympathizer]

Boy, that's a whole lot of writing just to say "I aint bout to fuck my money up, little niggas get murked everyday b"

Fuck did y'all expect exactly?

 

[Stiff]

A whole article on basically this nigga saying "no comment" lol

 

[S2J]

Here are mines everyone was back slapping Lebron for throwing on a Hoody and a T-shirt.. and praising him as a leader in social justice in the sports arena.. . Wrongfully... because he never fully articulated like SOME other athletes have. Basically hes is saying ..."thats messed up" .. Its shame tbh especially coming from that area being in that area. He should have never been touted as something he isn't.. its inexcusable for something like this that had national international attention to happen in your backyard yet you have nothing substantive to say..

If you throw on that Hoody to make a statement.. make....a STATEMENT

Give us a sample.

Please do tell...what should his statement be

 

[jono]

"I dunno man"- LeBron James

 

[S2J]

Sounds like ignorance as an excuse. Keeps him from taking sides and safe from any back lash.

Last i checked he didnt put a bullet in that boy head

Look at niggas tho!

The COURT has spoken, the fuck you asking Lebron for NOW?

ALSO...we on the net, i got 20k posts, we see this shit everyday. So in an era of a new shooting everyday, im not holding ANYONE to the fire for not being abreast of every damn bit of pop news like the world has a IC account and checks "G&S" everyday. Lot of yall have lost that perspective

I talk to plenty of people daily who dont know any and every topic that we here on the IC talk about for dozens of pages

We're no better than them. Quite frankly it just mean we dont have lives and/or dont be doin shit at work

 

[rapmusic]

The better statement would be if people didn't go to the games. Don't put it a all on Lebron. Lebron be sitting out games because he's tired and shit, this will do nothing.. Seeing a nearly empty arena will speak volumes.

 

[S2J]

The better statement would be if people didn't go to the games. Don't put it a all on Lebron. Lebron be sitting out games because he's tired and shit, this will do nothing.. Seeing a nearly empty arena will speak volumes.

Damn. Ether

 

[FlightKing]

Maybe he's been too busy to sit and read about this issue. He's spoken up enough before to show he cares about issues. If he misses one, nobody should indict him for it.

 

[Trillfate]

Crabs in a bucket.

Attack "Prosecutor" McGinty, not Lebron

 

[ghostdog56]

I said it before and is say it again, if black people want real change we need to petition black people in the military to boycott and go awol instead of one athlete, that will really hurt America when one third of your armed forces disappears over night