LeBron James has come hard on the owners of NFL saying they are “old white men” with “slave mentality.” He said this on the last episode of “The Shop” while speaking with actor and rapper Ice Cube, Maverick Carter his business partner, and L.A. Rams star, Todd Gurley. He could not hold back his resentment for what he termed as social injustice which was being exhibited towards players by the NFL body.
Gurley had initially labeled the subject as “sensitive” but James went on to criticize the body for trying to exert control over players. He however praised the NBA commissioner for being liberal with players and letting them support social causes without any form of restraint.
He said because most of the teams in the NFL were owned by old white men, the players were coerced to doing their bidding or be fired from their jobs. He said that was nothing short of a slave mentality.
In praising Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, he said Adam let them support such causes as long as it was done in a non-violent, educative manner. He added that sometimes Adam Silver wasn’t even in support but he let it fly anyway.
Over the last few years King James has become one of the most vocal sportsmen in the US, speaking against gun violence and police brutality, among other topics. On November 7, both Lakers and Hawks’ players wore shirts with the inscription “Enough” to honor the victims of the Thousand Oaks shooting.
There is a huge difference between the NFL and the NBA marked by the fact that the latter has not put its players under any form of coercion or injustice based on the support of social causes.