As a former NBA player, I wish Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James hadn’t said what he did about the white police officer who fatally shot a 16-year-old black girl last week in Columbus, Ohio, who was seemingly about to stab another black girl in a fit of rage.
Article by Tom Van Arsdale from Daily Signal.
Doing so only served to further inflame already raw racial tensions.
The white police officer saved a life and acted as he should have in a scary situation that unfolded rapidly, necessitating an equally rapid reaction in the incident, which quickly went viral.
James should have thought long and hard before he tweeted about the officer, “You’re next. #accountability,” implying a comparison to the police officer convicted in the killing of George Floyd. The second-guessing was gratuitous and hurtful.
Amid criticism, James deleted the tweet, claiming he did so because it was being used “to create more hate.”
That said, James is a talented, smart man, who is admired all over the globe. He has a net worth estimated at $400 million, not only because of his work ethic, but because he lives in the United States of America, which is the land of opportunities and freedom—and in my humble opinion, the greatest country on the planet.
What in the world is with this festering hatred among the races? I didn’t grow up that way, and I’m offended when the words “white supremacy” and “racism” are tossed around gratuitously to describe people like me because of our skin pigmentation.
My white friends are neither “white supremacists,” nor racists. Please, world: Stop generalizing.
I played in the NBA for 12 seasons, from 1965 to 1977. My autobiography, “Journey Man,” published in February, chronicles my life in the NBA, and I would encourage everyone to read it, because it describes how we all got along, no matter what color we are.
I played in the ’60s and ’70s with and against many great players who are black. They are still my friends to this day. NBA legend Oscar Robertson was and still is my idol. As 11-year-olds growing up in Indiana, my twin brother Dick (who also played in the NBA) and I watched Robertson, and he became one of our guiding lights.
Even when I played, the NBA was already predominantly black, and during my first season with the Detroit Pistons, the team was about 75% African American.
Some people would say to me that it’s a good thing I played when I did, because I couldn’t make it today because I’m white. That genuinely hurts and offends me.
So, I’m calling on James to help me help the NBA and this country.
My brother Dick and I have become so concerned about the message that the NBA is sending out that we started using our artwork to promote love and harmony among the races with nonpartisan messages on black and white T-shirts. With cartoon-style illustrations of basketball hoops and the like, the shirts feature slogans such as “Keep reaching,” “White and black must dribble together,” “Bounce two-gether,” “United we stand,” and “Sports Heal.”
I sent our tees to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, as well as to his top marketing guru, asking for their support to spread our unifying message. To date, I’ve received no response. Why not?
Now living in Phoenix, I’d also welcome the NBA’s Suns getting on board with us, but I don’t think they care about us long-retired players, even with this kind of positive agenda.
I’m calling on all active NBA players, as well as all of my retired NBA-player friends, to join hands and tell the world that we love each other, and that most of us are good, God-fearing people.
Don’t incite racial division, which is cheap and easy. Instead, as our T-shirts note, let “Sports Heal.”
Tom Van Arsdale is a retired NBA guard who played for five teams and was a three-time league All-Star.
‘The Purge’ by Big Tech targets conservatives, including us
Just when we thought the Covid-19 lockdowns were ending and our ability to stay afloat was improving, censorship reared its ugly head.
For the last few months, NOQ Report, Conservative Playbook, and the American Conservative Movement have appealed to our readers for assistance in staying afloat through Covid-19 lockdowns. The downturn in the economy has limited our ability to generate proper ad revenue just as our traffic was skyrocketing. We had our first sustained stretch of three months with over a million visitors in November, December, and January, but February saw a dip.
It wasn’t just the shortened month. We expected that. We also expected the continuation of dropping traffic from “woke” Big Tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, but it has actually been much worse than anticipated. Our Twitter account was banned. Both of our YouTube accounts were banned. Facebook “fact-checks” everything we post. Spotify canceled us. Medium canceled us. Apple canceled us. Why? Because we believe in the truth prevailing, and that means we will continue to discuss “taboo” topics.
The 2020 presidential election was stolen. You can’t say that on Big Tech platforms without risking cancellation, but we’d rather get cancelled for telling the truth rather than staying around to repeat mainstream media’s lies. They have been covering it up since before the election and they’ve convinced the vast majority of conservative news outlets that they will be harmed if they continue to discuss voter fraud. We refuse to back down. The truth is the truth.
The lies associated with Covid-19 are only slightly more prevalent than the suppression of valid scientific information that runs counter to the prescribed narrative. We should be allowed to ask questions about the vaccines, for example, as there is ample evidence for concern. One does not have to be an “anti-vaxxer” in order to want answers about vaccines that are still considered experimental and that have a track record in a short period of time of having side-effects, including death. One of our stories about the Johnson & Johnson “vaccine” causing blood clots was “fact-checked” and removed one day before the government hit the brakes on it. These questions and news items are not allowed on Big Tech which is just another reason we are getting canceled.
There are more topics that they refuse to allow. In turn, we refuse to stop discussing them. This is why we desperately need your help. The best way NOQ, CP, and ACM readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We are on track to be short by about $4100 per month in order to maintain operations.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. We had 5,657,724 sessions on our website from November, 2020, through February, 2021. Our intention is to elevate that to higher levels this year by focusing on a strategy that relies on free speech rather than being beholden to progressive Big Tech companies.
During that four-month stretch, Twitter and Facebook accounted for about 20% of our traffic. We are actively working on operating as if that traffic is zero, replacing it with platforms that operate more freely such as Gab, Parler, and others. While we were never as dependent on Big Tech as most conservative sites, we’d like to be completely free from them. That doesn’t mean we will block them, but we refuse to be beholden to companies that absolutely despise us simply because of our political ideology.
We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
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