Last week, LeBron James closed his postgame press conference by calling out the media. James expressed frustration with the media’s coverage of the recently-released Jerry Jones photo.
After The Washington Post shared the disturbing photo of Jones as a teenager among a group of young white men preventing Black students from integrating an Arkansas high school, James wanted to know why the media didn’t ask him to comment. James was especially bothered that reporters asked him to comment on Kyrie Irving’s antisemitic controversy, but not about Jones participating at a desegregation protest 65 years ago.
This week, James appeared on The Shop’s alternative Thursday Night Football broadcast and the NBA superstar was asked about his decision to turn the tables on the media.
? Accountability in the media is key#TNFinTheShop pic.twitter.com/1n4Pam3pem
— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) December 9, 2022
“The media is so quick to hold us athletes, especially us Black athletes, always holding us accountable,” James said during the Thursday Night Football alternate cast. “We can’t make mistakes, we can’t do this, they want to bring up anything. And I wanted to hold the media accountable.”
“The fact that they didn’t ask any one of us,” James continued. “I didn’t hear a question to any athlete, especially in the basketball world about the situation. I’m just holding them accountable, letting them know how I see it. I am definitely woke, that’s for sure.”
There are plenty of opportunities to hold the media accountable. And James absolutely has a fair gripe in arguing that the media treats players and owners differently. The media holds players accountable. Owners, however, rarely stand in front of a microphone to answer for their mistakes.
But James left himself open for criticism by expecting NBA reporters to ask Los Angeles Lakers players about a controversy that occurred with an NFL owner. Reporters asked James about Irving because he’s an NBA colleague and a former teammate. Reporters opted not to ask James about Jones because they exist in separate leagues. That doesn’t mean James can’t comment on the disturbing photo. Especially considering the influence he carries. However, reporters weren’t going to ask him about an NFL controversy without prompt.
[The Shop]
