Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald Trump and White House senior advisor, said — per Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Jacobs — that he wants to reach out to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James after he and other NBA players boycotted playoff games on Wednesday.
“What I’d love to see from the players in the NBA — again they have the luxury of taking a night off from work, most Americans don’t,” he said. “I’d like to see them start moving into concrete solutions that are productive.”
Among the many, many problems with that quote is the fact that he, who works in the White House, wants to speak to James about solutions to the social justice issues plaguing our country.
But there’s also the fact that he’d want to talk to the player who has arguably done more than anyone else when it comes to “concrete solutions” to those very problems.
Just look at this recent James tweet, which talks about his I Promise school in Akron and More Than a Vote, which he formed with fellow athletes to work on fighting voter suppression.
Change doesn’t happen with just talk!! It happens with action and needs to happen NOW! For my @IPROMISESchool kids, kids and communities across the country, it’s on US to make a difference. Together. That's why your vote is @morethanavote ✊🏾 #BlackLivesMatter
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 27, 2020
That’s basically the theme of the replies to Kushner, regarding what James and others have done:
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner is calling on LeBron James to "start moving into concrete solutions that are productive," but the NBA star has a history of putting action to advocacy. pic.twitter.com/t8qg0XdpWC
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) August 27, 2020
Will someone respectfully ask Mr. Kushner if he's read up on t/ 'More Than A Vote' organization & multi-million dollar effort @KingJames & a number of prominent NBA athletes r spearheading just for starters b4 calling LeBron today about concrete solutions? https://t.co/Lv4Du8VSTa https://t.co/GoofgPXHGt
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) August 27, 2020
Jared must not get the channel or news that has talked about LeBron’s More Than A Vote group. How he teamed up with the Dodgers to make the stadium a polling place. The multi-million dollar effort to recruit more poll workers. You know…all concrete solutions that are productive https://t.co/yqXrKnix6H
— Zach Wadley (@ZachWadley3) August 27, 2020
The Bucks immediately made a statement asking the WI legislature to reconvene. Lebron James started a voting rights organization that is finding new poll workers. If you are not seeing the concrete efforts you are doing so on purpose. https://t.co/UVBVyagYYs
— Jody Avirgan (@jodyavirgan) August 27, 2020
Boy, if I were Jared Kushner, I wouldn’t go one-on-one w/@KingJames, especially since Jared had his facts wrong about the public school LeBron launched in his hometown of Akron! https://t.co/33k4Wf6J67
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) August 27, 2020
What a joke. LeBron James has made much more of a positive impact in his community and around the world than Jared could ever do, even if he wanted to do the right thing. https://t.co/e65LKuWGbn
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) August 27, 2020
