NBA star LeBron James has said that he “does his homework” on his political activism. In that case, he should take up the offer for tutoring being put forward by police officers to walk “in a policeman’s shoes.”
The Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund has offered to make a “use of force” simulator available for LeBron to try in Washington, D.C. The simulator does exactly what you would think: It plays out various scenarios that a police officer may experience, showing how you would react in situations that may call for anything from using lethal force to simply conversing with people at the scene of the simulated call.
If LeBron really is a good-faith actor who cares about accountability and doesn’t want to “create more hate,” this would be a great offer to accept. Showing how quickly these situations can escalate and how difficult it is to be a police officer whose life is on the line during any given call could go a long way toward bridging the gap between activists and police officers.
Of course, LeBron has shown that he likely has no interest in that. The claim that he does his homework before weighing in on politics is little more than the egotistical bluster of an athlete who is propped up as a social justice icon with no real pushback. Any person who “does his homework” would have seen that the Columbus police officer who shot Ma’Khia Bryant acted appropriately to save someone’s life. LeBron chose to ignore that and make the shooting about racism instead.
LeBron has shown himself to be a political opportunist who pushes social justice talking points while ignoring inconvenient facts such as Bryant’s attempted stabbing or ignoring injustices that would interfere with his pocketbook, such as China committing genocide and crushing democracy in Hong Kong. But even then, this would give LeBron an opportunity to live up to the reputation he hasn’t really earned.
If LeBron truly wants change, this would do far more than the misinformed comments he offered on the Columbus shooting or just about any other issue he has opined on in the last few years. Complaining on Twitter and taking softball interviews from ESPN anchors is one thing; actually learning something and moving an issue forward is another. LeBron should capitalize on this opportunity to do the latter, but you probably shouldn’t get your hopes up.
