Jason Whitlock article on LeBrons “more than an athlete”

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The LeBron James “more than an athlete” obsession diminishes the importance of athletics. 

You don’t need to be more than an athlete to change the world, to promote equality. Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali proved that years ago.

The modern athlete mimicking James’ obsession doesn’t grasp the power of athletics in American culture. 

Competition is the fundamental belief at the core of the American experiment. 

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If America’s black athletes truly understood the power of sports, their fixation on proving they’re more than an athlete would dissipate. Do you see doctors wearing “More Than A Doctor” T-shirts? How about lawyers, movie directors, real-estate tycoons, bankers or insurance salesmen?

More Than An Athlete is a statement of insecurity. You’d think LeBron was a stripper. A dayshift stripper. 

The truth is LeBron is a lot like the reality TV star who launched himself into the White House to prove he’s more than a billionaire. Mixing good intentions with ignorance, ego, greed and the privilege that goes along with being born into enormous wealth and/or athleticism can be quite dangerous. 

In America, wealth privilege and athletic privilege blind and impair intellectual evolution. Gifts bestowed through inheritance and genetics are often misinterpreted by the receiver. Rather than fostering gratitude, they cultivate entitlement and delusion.

LeBron James wants to be a TV talk-show host, documentarian, movie producer, media mogul, grammatically challenged educator and political activist.

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