Way Out of Line: Jesse Jackson

Sometimes I really wonder why people like Jesse Jackson make headlines every couple of weeks…and then I remember the “I want to cut his nuts off” comment and think ‘Yep, now I remember.’

In this week’s episode of Way Out of Line, Jesse Jackson likened Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner, Dan Gilbert, to a slave owner who has just lost his slave, LeBron James.

In the words of Ed Lover, “C’mon Son! Get da fuck outta here wit dat shit!” That has to be the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard, and I’ve listened to just about every song put out by Soulja Boy and Wacka Flocka, so I know what I’m talking about. Last time I checked, slave owners didn’t sign their workers to multi-million dollar contracts and put up posters around the plantation in their honor.

I agreed with everything Rev. Jackson had said about the whole LeBron vs. Gilbert saga up until he threw the lost episode of Roots comparison at me. Did Gilbert go too far and drum up a lot of hostility towards King James, yes. Did he come off like a little kid who doesn’t want to share his toys, yes. But I don’t think you can liken any of that to slavery, that’s just ridiculous. Gilbert didn’t come off as if he owned the King, he was upset that the crowned ‘King’ of Ohio, who had been so loyal to the city, would just turn his back on the fans that supported him his whole life. He didn’t just think LeBron turned his back on the Cavs or Cleveland; he thought James turned his back on the whole state of Ohio.

When you’re a figurehead that’s as influential and iconic as Jesse Jackson, you have to choose your words carefully. There are people that read these things and will follow suit and agree with him, just based on the fact that it’s Jesse Jackson and ‘he must know what he’s talking about.’

Politics and Civil Rights play a significant part in sports and I appreciate the fact that he sounded off on Gilbert. It needed to be done with James doing what he does best, nothing. But I think we went a little too far with his comments, yet again.

I just want to know why black people have to turn everything into a matter of race as a self defense mechanism. Just because Gilbert is white and James is black doesn’t mean that he felt like he owned LeBron; he just felt attached to the man who put Ohio and the Cleveland Cavaliers back on the map. The guy is allowed to be upset when the player that he’s invested so much money into just up and leaves his ‘home’; and he shouldn’t have to hear talk about being a slave master when he does it.

I have the utmost respect for Rev. Jackson and everything he does for the community, but he took it too far this time. Some thoughts are just better when kept to yourself; you have to know when to put down the mic.

By Aaron Hilton
You can follow me on twitter @Way_2_Tall401