Why LeBron James Ignores Genocide and Stands With Israel
How is this acceptable?
Log In
Email *
Password *
Remember Me
Forgot Your Password?
Log In
New to The Nation? Subscribe
Print subscriber? Activate your online access
Skip to content Skip to footer
Why LeBron James Ignores Genocide and Stands With Israel
Magazine
Newsletters
Subscribe
Log In
Search
Subscribe
Donate
Magazine
Latest
Archive
Podcasts
Newsletters
Sections
Politics
World
Economy
Culture
Books & the Arts
The Nation
About
Events
Contact Us
Advertise
Current Issue
Activism
/ February 17, 2026
Why LeBron James Ignores Genocide and Stands With Israel
The basketball great once said he wanted to be like Muhammad Ali. He can’t do that and shrug off Israeli war crimes.
Dave Zirin
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James speaks at a press conference before the NBA All-Star Game in Inglewood, California, on February 15, 2026.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Twenty-two years ago, I wrote this about a preternaturally mature 19-year-old hoops phenom named LeBron James and his aspirations off the court:
James has said he has two goals in his life. One is to be “a global icon like Muhammad Ali,” and the other is to be the richest athlete in the history of the world. And while these may be two great goals, they don’t exactly go great together. That’s because people like Muhammad Ali didn’t become global icons because they were rich, but because they were willing to sacrifice everything—including sponsorship deals—to stand up for what they believed in.
In the last two decades, we have seen how James’s desires have conflicted. During the early days of Black Lives Matter movement, he was outspoken in his support for racial justice. In 2012, he posed with his Miami Heat teammates in hoodies to protest the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, and after the police killing of Eric Garner in 2014, he wore a T-shirt that said “I can’t breathe” during warm-ups alongside Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Kyrie Irving.
Yet over the last several years, as his fortune has exploded into the 10-figure category, James’s silence has been noticeable. Neither ICE’s killings nor the Trump regime’s relentless racism has moved him to speak forcefully. One perfect encapsulation of this untenable balancing act was in 2022 when he filed a trademark for the phrase “shut up and dribble.” When Fox News’s Laura Ingraham first bleated this at James in 2018, his supporters were enraged, and it became a rallying cry against the racism that Black athletes have long faced. Now one of James’s corporations says it will put it on items such as “downloadable virtual goods, namely, computer programs featuring footwear, clothing, headwear, eyewear, bags, sports bags, backpacks, sports equipment, art, toys and accessories for use online and in online virtual worlds.” The phrase will go from protest cry to branding exercise.
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
This week, the effort to balance the spirit of Muhammad Ali with his life as a 41-year-old billionaire tipped away from Ali. Actually, it didn’t just tip. It crashed to the ground. During NBA All-Star weekend, James was asked …
How is this acceptable?
Log In
Email *
Password *
Remember Me
Forgot Your Password?
Log In
New to The Nation? Subscribe
Print subscriber? Activate your online access
Skip to content Skip to footer
Why LeBron James Ignores Genocide and Stands With Israel
Magazine
Newsletters
Subscribe
Log In
Search
Subscribe
Donate
Magazine
Latest
Archive
Podcasts
Newsletters
Sections
Politics
World
Economy
Culture
Books & the Arts
The Nation
About
Events
Contact Us
Advertise
Current Issue
Activism
/ February 17, 2026
Why LeBron James Ignores Genocide and Stands With Israel
The basketball great once said he wanted to be like Muhammad Ali. He can’t do that and shrug off Israeli war crimes.
Dave Zirin
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James speaks at a press conference before the NBA All-Star Game in Inglewood, California, on February 15, 2026.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Twenty-two years ago, I wrote this about a preternaturally mature 19-year-old hoops phenom named LeBron James and his aspirations off the court:
James has said he has two goals in his life. One is to be “a global icon like Muhammad Ali,” and the other is to be the richest athlete in the history of the world. And while these may be two great goals, they don’t exactly go great together. That’s because people like Muhammad Ali didn’t become global icons because they were rich, but because they were willing to sacrifice everything—including sponsorship deals—to stand up for what they believed in.
In the last two decades, we have seen how James’s desires have conflicted. During the early days of Black Lives Matter movement, he was outspoken in his support for racial justice. In 2012, he posed with his Miami Heat teammates in hoodies to protest the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, and after the police killing of Eric Garner in 2014, he wore a T-shirt that said “I can’t breathe” during warm-ups alongside Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Kyrie Irving.
Yet over the last several years, as his fortune has exploded into the 10-figure category, James’s silence has been noticeable. Neither ICE’s killings nor the Trump regime’s relentless racism has moved him to speak forcefully. One perfect encapsulation of this untenable balancing act was in 2022 when he filed a trademark for the phrase “shut up and dribble.” When Fox News’s Laura Ingraham first bleated this at James in 2018, his supporters were enraged, and it became a rallying cry against the racism that Black athletes have long faced. Now one of James’s corporations says it will put it on items such as “downloadable virtual goods, namely, computer programs featuring footwear, clothing, headwear, eyewear, bags, sports bags, backpacks, sports equipment, art, toys and accessories for use online and in online virtual worlds.” The phrase will go from protest cry to branding exercise.
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
This week, the effort to balance the spirit of Muhammad Ali with his life as a 41-year-old billionaire tipped away from Ali. Actually, it didn’t just tip. It crashed to the ground. During NBA All-Star weekend, James was asked …
Why LeBron James Ignores Genocide and Stands With Israel
How is this acceptable?
Log In
Email *
Password *
Remember Me
Forgot Your Password?
Log In
New to The Nation? Subscribe
Print subscriber? Activate your online access
Skip to content Skip to footer
Why LeBron James Ignores Genocide and Stands With Israel
Magazine
Newsletters
Subscribe
Log In
Search
Subscribe
Donate
Magazine
Latest
Archive
Podcasts
Newsletters
Sections
Politics
World
Economy
Culture
Books & the Arts
The Nation
About
Events
Contact Us
Advertise
Current Issue
Activism
/ February 17, 2026
Why LeBron James Ignores Genocide and Stands With Israel
The basketball great once said he wanted to be like Muhammad Ali. He can’t do that and shrug off Israeli war crimes.
Dave Zirin
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James speaks at a press conference before the NBA All-Star Game in Inglewood, California, on February 15, 2026.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Twenty-two years ago, I wrote this about a preternaturally mature 19-year-old hoops phenom named LeBron James and his aspirations off the court:
James has said he has two goals in his life. One is to be “a global icon like Muhammad Ali,” and the other is to be the richest athlete in the history of the world. And while these may be two great goals, they don’t exactly go great together. That’s because people like Muhammad Ali didn’t become global icons because they were rich, but because they were willing to sacrifice everything—including sponsorship deals—to stand up for what they believed in.
In the last two decades, we have seen how James’s desires have conflicted. During the early days of Black Lives Matter movement, he was outspoken in his support for racial justice. In 2012, he posed with his Miami Heat teammates in hoodies to protest the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, and after the police killing of Eric Garner in 2014, he wore a T-shirt that said “I can’t breathe” during warm-ups alongside Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Kyrie Irving.
Yet over the last several years, as his fortune has exploded into the 10-figure category, James’s silence has been noticeable. Neither ICE’s killings nor the Trump regime’s relentless racism has moved him to speak forcefully. One perfect encapsulation of this untenable balancing act was in 2022 when he filed a trademark for the phrase “shut up and dribble.” When Fox News’s Laura Ingraham first bleated this at James in 2018, his supporters were enraged, and it became a rallying cry against the racism that Black athletes have long faced. Now one of James’s corporations says it will put it on items such as “downloadable virtual goods, namely, computer programs featuring footwear, clothing, headwear, eyewear, bags, sports bags, backpacks, sports equipment, art, toys and accessories for use online and in online virtual worlds.” The phrase will go from protest cry to branding exercise.
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
This week, the effort to balance the spirit of Muhammad Ali with his life as a 41-year-old billionaire tipped away from Ali. Actually, it didn’t just tip. It crashed to the ground. During NBA All-Star weekend, James was asked …
0 Comments
0 Shares
45 Views
0 Reviews
