Jesse Jackson Says Gilbert sees Lebron as "Runaway slave from Gilbert's Plantation"

• I Wear Pants

  He hasn't done anything for us. Well except invest heavily in the area. But he also hasn't told us that he loved the area and was incredibly loyal. Even going so far as to make speeches on his loyalty only to bolt out of town in the least dignified way possible.
• ytownfootball

  

  The difference is, HE promised to stay in Cleveland and build a champion, I didn't promise to love his ass when he changed his mind.
  
  I don't begrudge the guy his options. Don't lie to me.
  
  Gilbert did everything that could be reasonably expected of an owner, I don't think LeBron did everything that we as fans could have expected from someone who gave us their word. Selfish? Maybe. But we didn't promise shit.
• enigmaax

  I Wear Pants;421385 wrote:He hasn't done anything for us. Well except invest heavily in the area. But he also hasn't told us that he loved the area and was incredibly loyal. Even going so far as to make speeches on his loyalty only to bolt out of town in the least dignified way possible.

  
  You made him a savior. You needed to hear that this guy was gonna love you forever. He gave you what you wanted, but it didn't make him happy. Don't blame him because you depended too much on him.
  
  I love a few people that I could never live with. Some things just don't work out. Doesn't mean I always KNEW it wasn't going to.
• I Wear Pants

  Do not give public speeches about loyalty if you are not going to act accordingly.
• enigmaax

  ytownfootball;421389 wrote:The difference is, HE promised to stay in Cleveland and build a champion, I didn't promise to love his ass when he changed his mind.
  
  I don't begrudge the guy his options. Don't lie to me.
  
  Gilbert did everything that could be reasonably expected of an owner, I don't think LeBron did everything that we as fans could have expected from someone who gave us their word. Selfish? Maybe. But we didn't promise shit.

  
  Really? What championship team did Gilbert put together for you? You needed ONE piece, but Gilbert couldn't get any other big time players in their prime to come and play along side one of the top two or three players in the game and a guy who is one step away from being considered with the all-time greats (that step = win titles). But he did all he could?
  
  Honestly, you've never been caught up in a feeling? You've never told someone you'd love them forever? You've never had life change your perspective? Come on, I don't buy this "he lied" because you aren't that stupid. He didn't lie. It just didn't work out the way he thought it would ... and it isn't all on him.
• ytownfootball

  

  enigmaax;421395 wrote:Really? What championship team did Gilbert put together for you? You needed ONE piece, but Gilbert couldn't get any other big time players in their prime to come and play along side one of the top two or three players in the game and a guy who is one step away from being considered with the all-time greats (that step = win titles). But he did all he could?
  
  Honestly, you've never been caught up in a feeling? You've never told someone you'd love them forever? You've never had life change your perspective? Come on, I don't buy this "he lied" because you aren't that stupid. He didn't lie. It just didn't work out the way he thought it would ... and it isn't all on him.

  
  Did it ever cross your mind (not being facetious) that LeBron knew where he was going loooong before this whole thing went down? If that were true, would it be such a stretch to think that others (FA's) might know this too? Yeah, maybe a conspiracy theory, but honestly, all of them meeting together on the record, hardly makes this idea implausible.
• enigmaax

  ytownfootball;421399 wrote:Did it ever cross your mind (not being facetious) that LeBron knew where he was going loooong before this whole thing went down? If that were true, would it be such a stretch to think that others (FA's) might know this too? Yeah, maybe a conspiracy theory, but honestly, all of them meeting together on the record, hardly makes this idea implausible.

  
  Yes, it has crossed my mind. But thinking about how nice it would be to play with these guys after you've just done the Olympics and realizing its actual plausibility are two completely different things.
  
  Look, I don't doubt that LeBron was itching to leave before he made it official. But I also don't know where that all aligns with his loyalty talk. Everything I heard him say in the last year or so about free agency was that he was going to explore options. I also don't think leaving was as easy as some act like it was. Overall, you have to be confident you made the right decision and move on. That doesn't mean that it didn't weigh on him, possibly up until the very day of the announcement just like he said. I mean, have you ever gone through this type of process? Ever had mixed feelings and felt that no matter what you were either going to let yourself or others down? Now imagine that magnified a million times by the fact that millions of people actually give a shit about your decisions. He didn't set out to dick Cleveland over.
• ytownfootball

  

  Was that his intent? I'm sure not, I mean that. Was that the result? You bet your sweet ass it was.
  
  Point is, and all I've been saying really, is that you cannot expect any fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers to feel any differently than they do. I'm old enough to realize that he's a young guy making an enormous decision, I'm also old enough to understand and anticipate the ramifications of his decision. I think in the long run he's going to regret it. It's just my opinion, he made his choice for reasons we may or may not ever know. I just think, based on his statements of loyalty and his high school career, he'll regret it.
• rookie_j70

  

  see this is the reason why there is still racial tentions in the USA. jeese jackson and al sharpton are always trying to find something to complain about. those 2 are just as racist towards white people as the KKK is to blacks. race had NOTHING to do with this. If Lebron was white, Gilbert would still have said the same things. I too would have still called Lebron an attention whore, gutless, souless traitor.
• j_crazy

  

  jesse jackson has never said anything that didn't make me facepalm. guy is a real life troll.
• skank

  

  Bruce Drennen reports that there was not a call to the Cavs beforehand, Kenny Roda even reports that Gilbert left repeated messages with 'The Betrayer' even once pleading for....'The Betrayer' to give him just 5 minutes....To which he never recieved.
• skank

  

  Oh, and by the way....Jessie Jackson is just as bad for the black man as David Duke is for the white man. Hang em both.
• krazie45

  

  It's hard to believe that anyone is as out of touch with reality as Jesse Jackson
• sportchampps

  Kansas fans must be racist too because they had the same reaction when Roy Williams left to go to North Carolina. Oh wait Roy Williams is white.
• rmolin73

  

  Jesse POS Jackson would not have even said anything if LeBron was white. The vast majority of Black people view Jackson for what he is a race baiting insignificant individual.
• krambman

  

  Nate;421106 wrote:Sorry Jesse but if Lebron was white, he'd be facing the same situation.

  
  This right here is why I have a problem with Rev. Jackson's statement. It may be true that Gilbert has a sense of ownership of LeBron that's coming through in his letter, but it is not because of race. Rev. Jackson's statement seems to have an assumption of intent, that is, Rev. Jackson makes it sound as though Dan Gilbert see himself as a plantation owner and that his players he views as slaves. While he may see them somewhat likes slaves, because let's be honest, players are a lot like slaves under contract to their team owners, I think this analogy is too much.
  
  I also couldn't agree with you more that the comments and situation would still be exactly the same if the only thing different about this situation was LeBron's skin color. If LeBron were white instead of black Gilbert still would have issued the same letter, only Jesse Jackson would never have come forward and made a statement comparing Gilberts words and actions to that of a plantation owner with a slave mentality.
  
  And to those saying that Jesse Jackson is the reason that racism will never go away, to an extent you are right. Many who have been discriminated against, like Rev. Jackson, will not let the issue die, but if you think this is the only reason or even the primary reason that racism won't die then you are sorely mistaken. Racism is alive and well in this country and what Rev. Jackson does contribute little to keep it alive compared to the actions of those light-skinned people in our country who are truly racist.