LeBron James seems baffled by the different levels of media attention being given to a 1957 photograph of Jerry Jones and the current situation surrounding Kyrie Irving.
The picture of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, shot by an Associated Press photographer, shows him standing amid a group of white pupils at North Little Rock High School in Arkansas on Sept. 9, 1957, AP News reported.
LeBron James Disappointed to The Media
Six Black kids were trying to desegregate the school, and the group was obstructing them. According to press sources, the children have pushed down a flight of stairs shortly after the photo was taken.
The image was published in a Washington Post article last month that featured Jerry Jones history as the Dallas Cowboys' proprietor, including the fact that the organization has never had a Black head coach. LeBron James, a longtime Cowboys fan, said Wednesday that he felt it odd that he wasn't questioned by the media about the Jones picture.
In a Lakers postgame media conference, LeBron James told reporters: "When I watch Kyrie talk and he says, 'I know who I am, but I want to keep the same energy when we're talking about my people and the things that we've been through,' and that Jerry Jones photo is one of those moments that our people, Black people, have been through in America."
LeBron James continued saying he is "sort of sad" that as a prominent "Black athlete," he gets criticized in the media when he does "anything wrong" or against a popular belief.
"But it seems to me that the entire Jerry Jones thing, picture - and I know it was years and years ago and we all make errors, I understand it - has just been buried beneath, like, 'Oh, it happened," the Lakers superstar LeBron James said.
LeBron James concluded his postgame press conference by rhetorically wondering why the media hasn’t asked him about the Jerry Jones 1957 Little Rock photo, after he was asked about the Kyrie Irving situation. LeBron said he was “disappointed” that he hasn’t been asked about Jones pic.twitter.com/IvdJzZa5Fd
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvo_) December 1, 2022
Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving, who played with James on the Cleveland Cavaliers for two seasons, was reprimanded for failing to apologize for supporting an antisemitic movie. He returned to basketball action a few weeks ago, as per a report from Yahoo! Sports.
Jerry Jones has commented on the picture, stating that he was a curious youngster who did not realize the significant event that was going on at that moment.
Defending Right to Free Speech
Despite being a native of Cleveland, James had a connection to the Cowboys; nonetheless, in October 2022, the Lakers top player announced that he had moved to the Browns from the Cowboys due to Jones' attitude to the social justice demonstrations that erupted around the NFL six years earlier.
ESPN reported that when asked if he was still a Cowboys fan, LeBron James said he "had to sit out on the Cowboys" as he defended the athletes' "freedom of speech" and their right to protest in "a very peaceful manner." The four-time NBA champion went on saying that he thinks it was not "appropriate" for the team to restrain its players freedom of expression.
When several NFL players started kneeling in 2017 in support of then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's nonviolent stand against police brutality, Jerry Jones stated he would not "tolerate" players on his team who disrespect the flag.
