In mocking the president he hates, LeBron James raised eyebrows Tuesday by parking himself under a Make America Great Again hat. James' hat displayed an altered version of MAGA, crossing out the words "Great Again" and adding a message about Breonna Taylor, an African American woman who was shot to death by police in Louisville in March.
Before the Lakers' Tuesday NBA playoff game against Portland, James and his teammates made yet another in their seemingly endless series of social justice statements.
USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt writes: "Riffing off the MAGA red hat theme, James and other Lakers wore a red hat that read 'Make America (with a line through 'Great Again') arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor.' "
James usually wears social justice-themed t-shirts, too, and on Tuesday his message was “By Any Means.”
On March 13, plain-clothed Louisville policemen entered Taylor's apartment with an arrest warrant for her and others and exchanged gunfire with her boyfriend and another man suspected of selling drugs on the property. Taylor was shot eight times and killed, and officer Brett Hankison was fired. Protests followed for several weeks.
James and more than 10 million others signed a petition demanding justice for Taylor. After losing the playoff game, James stated:
"Just something we continue to put our foot on the gas, continue to pressure. You know the situation that is going on in Louisville, Kentucky. An innocent woman being killed, by the name of Breonna Taylor. A woman who had a bright future and her life was taken away from her. There's been no arrests. There's been no justice. Not only for her, but for her family. We continue to shed light on that situation."
James also shed his light on Instagram with the message:
Zillgitt's story says NBA players on the Disney World Florida campus are seeking justice for Taylor’s death through social media and media interviews. That's a classic understatement when compared to Jason Whitlock's interpretation of what's going down in the so-called bubble. He says NBA players are trapped in a cult, and the bubble is "a shrine to BLM, the divisive, anti-religion, Marxist-influenced movement tearing apart America."
The words "Black Lives Matter" are painted on the court. NBA players are "Like brainwashed followers of David Koresh," wearing BLM shirts and kneeling during the national anthem, Whitlock adds.:
"You can’t escape the condescending preaching and finger-wagging, even during the commercial breaks. Professional athletes have decided they’re the enlightened human beings, the chosen ones, called on to end racism with BLM-approved racism."
BLM is "a political cult that functions as a religious cult," and the allegiance of its followers is based on anger, insecurity, fear, ignorance and groupthink, Whitlock concluded.
