Wiley On LeBron Claiming System Is Broken: It "Allowed You To Become A Billionaire And Never Get Arrested"

[Ubiquitous]

Marcellus Wiley, former all-pro NFL defensive end and current sports
analyst, slammed LeBron James late last week over a controversy that
James sparked when he targeted a police officer, who saved a black girl
from being stabbed, by tweeting out a picture of the officer and
writing, "YOU'RE NEXT."

Wiley criticized James for rushing to judgment on the case which came
on the heels of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin being
convicted last week of murdering George Floyd last May.

"Who in the hell is looking at this situation any different?" Wiley
asked about the shooting in Ohio that James responded to. "The cop has
an impossible choice, which is to save a life I'm going have to take a
life. And it's just that simple. Like I get where we want to say, but
this happened over here, but that ain't this. I'm talking about right
here."

Wiley also took issue with James' victim mentality after James claimed
in a follow-up tweet, after deleting his tweet targeting the police
officer, that "it's about the entire system."

"LeBron James in this tweet, what does he saying? `Oh man, the system.'
The system?" Wiley asked rhetorically. "The same system that is so
broken that it allowed you to become a billionaire and never get
arrested in it. But the system is broken? Are you speaking for other
people? We have enough people out here telling us what not to do, what
goes wrong. How about somebody who has made it? Single parent? LeBron
James, what, he went to 10 different homes moving around Ohio his
entire childhood. I would love to hear that story of how you became
LeBron James against all odds, instead of always professing the odds
are against all people."

Wiley lamented that young people are growing up in a world where
"they're going to know victim's names before they know professor's
names and wise scholars like Thomas Sowell."

Wiley also slammed James for calling out the roughly 250 black people
killed by police every year while ignoring the "7,500 homicides to
black people every single year." Wiley said that the 7,500 number
"never gets the discussion" it deserves "because the people with the
[influential] platform[s] are not highlighting that."

WATCH:
https://twitter.com/SFY/status/1385429455628165121

TRANSCRIPT:

MARCELLUS WILEY, SPORTS HOST: Let's start here. I want to actually pray
that his profoundness matches the power of his platform. I say it
again, his profoundness will one day match the power of his platform.
You basically said that like dawg, you can't do this. You can't be that
irresponsible, if you're LeBron James, because you have that much
power. And we all know when you get that type of power the
responsibility comes with it. The accountability that was deleted in
that tweet is ironic, like to put up #accountability, which is
something that we all need right now in this moment, accountability on
all sides with all people, whether you are talking about the police
officers, whether you are talking about the individuals in this
situation or even the victim in this situation. Every situation with
accountability, not just rooting interest. And that's what's
interesting about this, LeBron James in terms of what he does for his
day job, being a basketball player, second best at worst ever, maybe
the GOAT. It's amazing. There's one glaring critique on his resume that
he defers at critical times. Damn, I wish that was true in this moment,
when it's real issue, not just basketball wins and losses and points
scored, when it's real life issues. Where's the deferred? In that
moment LeBron, until all the facts come out, until you watch the video,
until you come out and see what's right from wrong in this situation.
He should have passed in this moment. You know, people always say and
I'm not agreeing with that `shut up and dribble,' nah, just shsss, and
pass. Wait for it to come. And then you'll be able to see things clear.
But this what happens when you want to be first, not right. And he has
that platform, he has that power, he has those followers, and he knows
that those people are listening for every single word that he's going
to profess.

So it's crazy. You said check your emotions if you're not emotional.
I'm gonna check'em, because emotions can't trump logic and that's
what's happening. Your agenda can't go before your acumen. You can't
pander before your principles. And right now, even if you get all the
likes and all the retweets, you know what I say about social media,
man, I am tired of people always going out there for likes and
followers. Where's the love and the leaders? And the LeBron James in so
many respects, gosh you're well intended, in so many respects gosh you
do the greatest in which you touch and in endeavors, opening the
schools, etc. We know his charitable contributions, how big his heart
is. Can't forget up here, because the statement goes like this, I don't
care how smart you are, if you don't stop and think. LeBron James, he
failed in that moment, don't give a damn how smart you are if you don't
stop and think this is the moment that he regrets.

.

And I get the pull, I get why LeBron James wants to be first and right
of course, but first, but in this moment, come on. Who in the hell is
looking at this situation any different? The cop has an impossible
choice, which is to save a life I'm going have to take a life. And it's
just that simple. Like I get where we want to say, but this happened
over here, but that ain't this. I'm talking about right here. And when
you're that powerful, LeBron, you have that platform, you have to stay
in that play to use basketball terms. You have to stay in that vacuum.
It's just interesting when that happens, but LeBron James man, it's
been a lot of missteps man and I'm not going to balance it out because
I think the good outweighs the bad. Certainly. But LeBron James has to
understand, man, he goes out there and says, `well, you know, we live
in two different Americas.' I don't believe that America is divided. I
just think we different and right now is getting highlighted more so
than ever, so it's getting exaggerated. LeBron says he's scared to
leave his house. Why? But I'm not scared to leave my house and I'm not
the LeBron James. I'm not enamored like LeBron James. He's scared to
leave his house. We can have that conversation another day. LeBron
James in this tweet, what does he saying? `Oh man, the system.' The
system? The same system that is so broken that it allowed you to become
a billionaire and never get arrested in it. But the system is broken?
Are you speaking for other people? We have enough people out here
telling us what not to do, what goes wrong. How about somebody who has
made it? Single parent? LeBron James, what, he went to 10 different
homes moving around Ohio his entire childhood. I would love to hear
that story of how you became LeBron James against all odds, instead of
always professing the odds are against all people.

I love LeBron James, you know, I think he's the GOAT so don't get me
started on this but you got to look before you leap in anything in
life. I don't give a damn you rich, poor, or ugly. You got to look
before you leap. LeBron just leaped in this one because he knew his
followers will catch him. And that's a problem. I give it to you like
this. One ,your skin is not your sin. So when people start saying well
entertainment and athletics. Yeah, and other lanes, we're over here
now, having our kids grow up in a world where they're going to know
victim's names before they know professor's names and wise scholars
like Thomas Sowell or something like that. But here's the sentence.
Tell me how you feel about this sentence. LeBron James says, `I'm so
damn tired of seeing black people killed by police,' with that
platform. How about this sentence? Instead of that, `I'm so damn tired
of seeing black people killed.' A little different. How about this
sentence, even more idealistic, `I'm so damn tired of just seeing
people killed.' See the misstep, I can't excuse that, in the misstep,
like we harp on a play in a football game and we will spend a whole
show on that. . But the irresponsibility that shows in the micro makes
me say be responsible about the macro, like dawg, 250 black people
killed by police every year. That's 250 too many people. But in the
macro sense, there's 7,500 homicides to black people every single year
as well. I'm not saying LeBron you got to put the focus on that fully,
but let's be responsible, we gonna just go in there and say I want to
save 250 people, which we all do, but there's 7,500 in totality that
never gets the discussion because the people with the platform are not
highlighting that. And that's look, I grew up, I grew up trying to
navigate around that. I am not scared of the police brother. I wouldn't
then, I'm not now.

--
Trump won.