Donald Trump using sport to divide us, says NBA star LeBron James

LeBron James accused Donald Trump of twisting the narrative of peaceful ‘kneeling protests’ by NFL players and a number of NBA players boycotting the traditional White House visit.

In an interview to CNN, LeBron James said Trump brought racial faultlines back into focus. (AP Photo)

LeBron James accused Trump of twisting the narrative of peaceful ‘kneeling protests’ by National Football League players and a number of NBA players boycotting the traditional White House visit

Anthem protests
“I think at times he uses black athletes (as scapegoats). I believe he uses anything that is popular to try and negate people from thinking about the positive things they could be doing and try and get on their minds. From football players kneeling, Colin Kaepernick protesting what he believed in, he did it in a calm fashion and respectful and everyone knew why he did it,” LeBron told CNN’s Don Lemon. He also referred to Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry’s decision not to visit the White House, a tradition the winners of the NBA title have followed.

“We are in a position in American right now where this whole race thing has kind of taken over. I believe our president is diving us. What I have noticed over the past few months is that he (Trump) is using sport to divide us. That is something I can’t relate to. I can’t sit back and say nothing. Sports has never been something that divides people but always something that brings people together,” LeBron said.

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The current context
In May this year, the NFL enforced a national anthem policy which made it mandatory for players to stand if they are on the field but also gave them the option to remain in the locker room. The policy allows a team to fine a player or any other staff member who does not stand for the national anthem or disrespects it. A number of players — with 49ers Colin Kaepernick being the first in 2016— have sat or knelt during the anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality. The players’ union had objected to what was seen as a crackdown on dissent and the new rules were temporarily suspended.

What Trump had said
President Donald Trump had welcomed the NFL’s decision that made it mandatory for players to stand if they were on the field of play. “You have to stand proudly for the national anthem. The NFL owners did the right thing,” the president told a programme on Fox News. Trump had opined that players who don’t stand maybe shouldn’t be allowed to play and “maybe you shouldn’t be in the country”. Last year the American president linked the anthem protests in the NFL to falling viewership and fan turnout saying that the “American people didn’t want the flag to be disrespected”.
Also during a rally in Huntsville, Alabama, Trump was scathing in his attack on players who didn’t stand up for the anthem. “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired!’ You know, some owner is going to do that. He’s gonna say, ‘That guy disrespects our flag, he’s fired.’ And that owner, they don’t know it. They don’t know it. They’re friends of mine, many of them. They don’t know it. They’ll be the most popular person, for a week. They’ll be the most popular person in the country,” Trump had said.

Team owner issues warning
Last week, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made it clear that he would not allow any of his players to stay in the locker room when the national anthem was being played. This is not the first time Jones is making it clear that he would not allow players to protest. Last season, Jones was the first owner to say that players would be benched for protesting during the anthem. However, two players, David Irving and Damontre Moore, protested by raising fists but were not disciplined.

Opinion divided
However, not all team owners were on the same page as Jones. New York Jets chairman Christopher Johnson said that he was ready to cough up a fine in case any of his players did not stand during the national anthem. The owner of San Francisco 49ers, the team for which Kaepernick played for, abstained from the vote which resulted in rules coming into force making it mandatory for players to stand.