LeBron James is challenging the media to do better and questioning why he wasn’t asked about the vintage photo of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones at an Arkansas school desegregation protest in the late 1950s. The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. In the postgame press conference, he aired out his frustrations about his perception of reporters’ imbalanced coverage.
LeBron James wondered why he has not been asked about the 1957 photo of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones that recently surfaced, after the media were quick to question him about Kyrie Irving.
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LeBron James Wants To Know Why Media Didn’t Ask Him About Jerry Jones Photo?
“I got one question for you guys before you guys leave,” James said toward the end of his postgame interview. “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. But when the Kyrie thing was going on, you guys were quick to ask us questions about that.”
James wanted to shine the light back on the media, which challenged him to comment about his former teammate and current Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving after he shared a link to a documentary called “Hebrews to Negroes.”
“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,'” James continued, “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.”
Jay Williams Wants Jerry Jones To Publicly Denounce Racism
ESPN NBA analyst Jay Williams is one media personality that has gone against the grain by openly challenging Jerry Jones.
“I need Jerry Jones to denounce racism,” Williams said on social media. “I want Jerry Jones to denounce racism because I have not heard him do it thus far. I have a lot to say on this.”
What Did Jerry Jones Do In 1957?
A resurfaced photo shows a 14-year-old Jones standing behind a group of white students trying to block Black students from desegregating his Arkansas high school in 1957. Jones acknowledged his presence at North Little Rock High that day in 1957 but attempted to explain it as a situation of circumstance and curiosity.
“I don’t know that I or anybody anticipated or had a background of knowing what was involved. It was more a curious thing,” Jones said during a media scrum.
LeBron James No Longer A Cowboys Fan
James was a notable Cowboys fan, but in an October Instagram Live video promoting his premium cable show “The Shop,” as an alternate “Thursday Night Football” telecast, James said he moved on from the world’s most financially successful football franchise. Jones’ handling of players’ protests over the last few years was his main reason.
