Had it not been for the ramped up hysteria over "The Decision," LeBron James' honest response to an admittedly disputatious inquiry about race could have been a springboard that compelled some to discuss race or at least why it is so divisive a subject mater.
However, after James told CNN's Soledad O'Brien that "I think so, at times. It's always, you know, a race factor." He unleashed a hailstorm of criticism from many of his most ardent critics.
Some accused him of blaming race for his problems, or simply looking to scapegoat his way out of his public relations nightmare. Of course, that was before the ugly, racists tweets that James released, but even that will not sway those already casting him as the boogie man under the bed and one of the most "hated athletes of all time," according to some polls.
As the 2011 Miami Heat season officially begins on Oct. 26, there are questions about whether James can rebuild his shattered image. Some have argued, rather hyperbolically, that he is forever tarnished for "using race as an excuse," or "playing the race card" that was already maxed out.
On ...
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Article written by Robert Felton
LeBron James Miami Heat: Will His Statement On Race Haunt Him This Season?
October 22nd, 2010 by Robert Felton Leave a reply »
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