“Media Whore,” Jason Whitlock, Excoriated for Racial Evisceration of LeBron James
In “Media Whore,” Jason Whitlock, Excoriated for Racial Evisceration of LeBron, I supplement my YouTube Video, “Jason Whitlock Undermines LeBron James’ Response to Racism.”
“Media Whore,” Jason Whitlock, was severely excoriated by his sports analyst colleagues and multitudinous members of the black community for his evisceration of LeBron James, after James responded to questions from reporters about the racial slurs spray painted on his Los Angeles home. It seems that Whitlock went out of his way to create multiple platforms from which he could rail on James for what he called playing the “victim.”
When asked about the vandalism of his home, and the context under which it was done, LeBron James, responded, “No matter how rich you are, no matter how famous you are, it’s tough being Black in America.”
Whitlock responded by calling James a lie. He said, It’s not tough being Oprah Winfrey, it’s not tough being LeBron James.” He continued, “It’s not tough being Jason Whitlock. When I leave here today, I am going to drive to Wilshire Boulevard, get out of my car, and throw the keys to my car to some White or Latino Man, who’s going to say, ‘Mr. Whitlock, anything I can do for you today?’”
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After hijacking another colleague’s show to spew his vituperative rhetoric about this young man, he revisited the conversation again on his own show, where he was called to task by several guests, including Paul Broussard, who attempted to make him see the error in his philosophy — to no avail. But the resistance to Whitlock’s attack on LeBron was still mounting and developing momentum.
Another one of his colleagues, Mike Hill, also came out with guns blazing, calling what Whitlock said both, dumb and reckless. The idea that being wealthy somehow shields us from the multitudinous machinations and mechanisms of institutional and social racism is absolutely preposterous. While Jason Whitlock continued to make his case that what LeBron said was divisive and harmful, the vast majority of people who are actually connected to the Black experience believe that his direct assault of LeBron James, in his thinly veiled attempt to defend the White America’s status quo, was far more damaging.
Jason Whitlock is just one of a number of Blacks who have experienced a certain level of success and decided to abandon ship at all cost. The feeling of the success that these people experience accentuates their appetite for more. They become convinced that because they live life in a better setting or environment than the average Black person, that they somehow have escaped the manacles of racism in a racist culture.
They believe their quasi-liberation is somehow authenticated by the tacit approval and perceived acceptance of Whites. It is easy for these people to not only look for ways to extricate themselves from the collective to be a part of something they perceive to be better, because somewhere deep down inside they have convinced themselves that their current status makes them different — makes them better.
Neely Fuller Jr. once said — and I paraphrase — that until you completely understand racism, White supremacy, and its multiple mechanisms, in all of their complexity, everything you think you know about racism will only confuse you. What Jason Whitlock is doing right now is a prime example of that. Institutional racism is a highly complex dynamic that is made up of multiple components that work in collusion with one another to achieve an ultimate goal. Classism is only one element within the recondite and even vermiculate construct of racism, and while the development of wealth will allow for a certain level of escapism from the grasp of classism, it does not, in any way, allow for the free navigation through the other components.
There is no doubt that LeBron is able to experience some freedoms that the average person, regardless of race, will not be able to experience. However, LeBron’s money can never remove the perceived sin of his Blackness, as far as this corrupt system is concerned. Like all Black men before him, he will have to continue to find ways to thrive in this world, despite its racist tendencies. Michael Jackson found that his money could not stop him from being targeted, persecuted and prosecuted. Tennis player, James Blake, found out that being wealthy does not insulate the Black man from being profiled and assaulted without provocation. While we can thrive in it, we will never be absent of it.
Even President Obama could not escape the pull of racism as he was, by far, the most openly disrespected and challenged president in the history of this country.
Those who have followed me know that I refuse to use the “C” word when referring to Blacks who jump ship in pursuit of White favor, but I will definitely call out an agent when I see one. Jason Whitlock is not confused or misguided, he knows exactly what he is doing, and he does not care how many Black people he has to step on in order to do it. Remember, it was Whitlock who body-shamed Serena Williams for a physique, which I find hilarious, when considering he is one hamburger away from being bedridden.
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Jason is happy with his pseudo-comfort in the White world, and he will protect it all cost. The way that we respond to race-traitors and agents like Whitlock is to completely disown them — refusing to support anything connected to them. We must be decisive when dealing with our own who find it to be an acceptable course of action to openly attack us for the sake of protecting the sanctity of White America. It is time to send a clear message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. ~ Rick Wallace, Ph.D., Psy.D.