LeBron James' activism as important, impactful as his accomplishments on the court
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar handing the basketball to LeBron James center court at the Staples Center in Los Angeles late Tuesday was symbolic in so many ways.
Yes, LeBron cemented his claim as the greatest of all time (sorry, Michael) by passing Kareem as the game's all-time leading scorer, the most revered record in professional basketball. And James' numbers over his 20 years are staggering.
And while we all can agree LeBron is No. 1 or No. 2, or at worst No. 3, in his sport, that only tells part of the story when it comes to the mark he is leaving.
More:LeBron James responds to Fox News host: “I definitely will not shut up and dribble”
For all that LeBron has accomplished on the court because of his talent and work ethic, he has been equally impactful off the court.
Because of his voice.
By his actions.
Kareem said it best following the emotional celebration after James' step-back elbow jumper late in the third quarter against the Thunder pushed his career points total to 38,388, one more than the record Abdul-Jabbar held for nearly four decades.
"What LeBron has done off the court is more important than what he's done on the court," Kareem said.
Amen.
And this comes from a man who was one of the pioneers among superstar athletes advocating for civil rights and social justice, using his platform to inspire others who came after him — like LeBron James.
Kareem's teammates were Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali, John Carlos and Tommie Smith as much as they were Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper.
Those superstars emboldened athletes of their generation just as LeBron has done during a time when a president of the United States stoked racial division and called a professional athlete a "son of a bitch" for exercising his right to protest.
LeBron has inspired Colin Kaepernick, Megan Rapinoe and Steph Curry to speak out
Just as LeBron has emboldened athletes such as Colin Kaepernick, Megan Rapinoe, Steph Curry and Naomi Osaka.
Long before Abdul-Jabbar's record was on James' radar, LeBron became one of the most high-profile athletes when it came to speaking on social and political issues. He knew he had a platform, and unlike Jordan and Tiger Woods, he was not afraid to use his voice.
He did not care if "Republicans buy sneakers, too," one of Jordan's most scrutinized quotes when asked why he was quiet on social issues.
James played a primary role in his and his Miami Heat teammates being photographed in 2012 wearing hoodies as a tribute to Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, who was in a hoodie when he was shot and killed by a neighborhood crime watch volunteer. He was among those who wore “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts to protest the death of Eric Garner, a New York man who was put in a chokehold by a police officer.
Since then, there have been too many other unjustified killings of unarmed Black men, spawning the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, a phrase not only LeBron and his peers embraced but one the entire NBA got behind.
Whether it was demanding to hold public officials accountable or advocating for greater regulation of firearms or firing back at an ignorant Fox News host who told him to "shut up and dribble," LeBron James' influence goes well beyond his remarkable talent on the court.
Five years ago during All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, James spoke for the first time after Laura Ingraham showed her disgust that a man who plays basketball for a living would use his voice to help promote change. Ingraham said it was unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid a hundred million dollars a year to bounce a ball.
“We’re back to everything I’ve been talking about over the last few years," James said that day. "It lets me know that everything I’ve been saying has been correct, for her to have that type of reaction.
"But we will definitely not shut up and dribble. I will definitely not do that. I mean too much to society. I mean too much to the youth. I meant too much to so many kids who feel like they don’t have a way out and need someone to help lead them out of the situation they’re in."
Tom D'Angelo is sports columnist for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: LeBron James is much more than the man who broke NBA 's scoring record
