LeBron James and the NBA try to talk a good show on race, but are the profits they pocket more important to them than the politics they parrot? Lakers players like LeBron wear the logo of the online shopping platform Wish on their uniforms. These are some of the items Wish sells.

LeBron declared “racism is here” and “we should all know that.” He says he sees it. He says he talks to his kids about it. He even claims he’s a target. So why is he lending his reputation to Wish when they sell products like this?

He bashed a critic of NASCAR’s Confederate flag ban, yet LeBron suits up with the logo of a company selling products emblazoned with that same flag.

The NBA tells us their team uniforms are not just an uniform, but “a call to action, a command for greatness.”

LeBron said: “I’m a part of a league with a great commissioner in Adam Silver. He’s given us an opportunity to, when we feel something that’s very wrong with society, that’s very wrong with what’s going on in our community, that we could speak upon that and use the NBA shield to back us.”

But does the merchandise Wish sells command greatness? Why hasn’t LeBron and his teammates spoken up about it?

Like the hypocritical silence about the oppression of Uyghur Muslims that secures Communist China’s financial support, is this hypocrisy over Wish’s Confederate memorabilia an example of cash ultimately being king in pro sports?

Wish can sell these things if it wants to, but why have LeBron and the Lakers lent their reputation to help them sell it? Why has the NBA allowed this to happen after claiming to be all-in on social justice?

Where will LeBron and the NBA draw the line?

Ask them:

@KingJames

@Lakers

@NBAOfficial

@NBA

Photo credit: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images | All screen captures from the Wish and NBA websites were taken on 5/20/2021 | © 2021 The National Center for Public Policy Research | Privacy Policy