It’s Deeper Than “I like Mike!”

Last week, LeBron James opened his I Promise School in his hometown Akron, Ohio. The $8 million public school focuses on at-risk youth and their families. The kids get free uniforms, free bicycles and helmets, free breakfast, lunch, AND snacks… their families get food pantries, their parents get GED and job placement services, and if or when the kids graduate, they get to attend the University of Akron for free. That’s a dream come true for 240 kids and their families, and a hell of a good deed for a man who could easily be worried about his transition to LA or his multiple business ventures. Instead, he decided to give back in the most significant way possible.

Regardless of your political views, where you’re from or where you work, it’s hard not to feel good about such a story that will have a positive impact on hundreds of kids and their families from day 1. Right?

Wrong… Trump couldn’t help himself. LeBron did an exclusive interview with CNN’s Don Lemon about the school shortly after it opened. In the interview LeBron was candid about how he believed Trump has successfully used sports to divide us. In typical Trump fashion, he attacked LeBron and Don Lemon on twitter.

And if that wasn’t petty enough, he added “I like Mike!”, which on the surface just looks like a jab in the on-going and never-ending debate of who’s better, MJ or LeBron.

But when you dig a little deeper and read between the lines, you should recognize the legitimate criticism Jordan has received over the years for his apolitical positions and lack of support and charity for communities of color. Considering many of the kids in these communities have struggled, fought, and in some cases died wearing his Air Jordan sneakers, you quickly realize Donald Trump liking Mike over LeBron has nothing to do with their game on the court. One could easily insinuate that he prefers the rich, quiet, passive Black athlete who’s happy with his money and status, like Jordan, instead of the rich, vocal, and extremely active Black athlete who is intent on pushing the conversation and having an impact on his community, like LeBron.

You got all that from “I like Mike!”? Yes, we did. But you be the judge.

Don Lemon being the dumbest man on TV and LeBron not being smart are just the latest dog whistle tweets and remarks in a long history of Trump attacking the intellect of Black people. More and more Republicans are starting to push back on Trump and his rhetoric… they push back on Russia and his odd obsession with Putin, they push back on his trade policies… but never on race, never when he takes an uncalled for shot at a person of color.

Will any prominent Republican’s denounce his tweets on LeBron? Probably not. In a country where minorities will soon be the majority, Republican’s might want to think about to trying to appeal to all American’s. Letting sexist, racist, xenophobic comments and remarks go unchecked, even if it is from the leader of the free world, will catch up to their party sooner than later.