LeBron James, in my opinion, is the greatest basketball player ever.
Before he came along, I think maybe it was Michael Jordan, or Oscar Robertson, or maybe Magic Johnson.
Magic, who is still my all time favorite, was a 6’9″ point guard. Famous for playing all 5 positions, Magic is my favorite because of his leadership ability and his amazing passing ability. Still, if I’m honest I would put him behind the other three on the All-Time list.
Oscar played in a different era, where players weren’t nearly as big or fast, so I’m not so sure he would be as dominate in today’s game, so for that reason alone, I think it comes down to Jordan or LeBron.
Both men are elite athletes and prolific scorers, but when it comes to passing and rebounding, LeBron is superior.
When Lebron decided to return to Cleveland from Miami in 2014, my son said “Dad, we have the greatest player in history from the state of Ohio, how come we don’t follow the Cavaliers?”
He was right, so we became dedicated fans.
We followed them closely and rooted for our home state team.
Until 2016.
While Scott, Shelbi, Theresa and I were in Cleveland to see our beloved Cowboys play the Browns, LeBron was across town holding a political rally for Hillary Clinton.
From that day forward, my enthusiasm for the Cavaliers, but especially LeBron began to fade.
Not because LeBron has a political viewpoint, but because he became a political activist. LeBron became my political enemy.
You see, I follow LeBron because he plays basketball and I like the way he plays. He works harder than almost anyone else in the league. He cares about winning and dedicates himself to his craft. He’s unselfish with the basketball and has amazing leadership skills. Yet, here he was on stage supporting one of the most evil people in human history.
Someone I would consider an enemy of America.
Someone I consider my enemy.
Maybe it’s wrong, but I just couldn’t stay a fan because of politics.
Politics is something I watch very carefully. Not because I like to argue, but because I’m a husband and a father.
When I became a father, I became keenly aware of the world around me.
Suddenly I became interested in how the world worked and how policy would affect my children. My mindset was to raise my kids with principles and ethics, but my main passion was to protect them.
Protection, the highest calling of a dad.
As a young father, I looked at both the Democrat and Republican party. (Looking back, I realize this is an evil paradigm. A two party system is designed to pit one group of people against another, but I digress. I’ll save that for another day.)
As I looked carefully at each party I came across a subject that bothered me to my core. Abortion.
“Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that people believe it’s okay to kill a baby as long as it’s still inside the mother? What? Why would anyone do this?”
It’s the main reason I have never been able to vote for a Democrat. I just can’t get passed it. Why wouldn’t someone just put the child up for adoption?
My children are precious to me. I just can’t imagine killing them. It’s pure insanity.
Which brings me back to Hillary and LeBron.
Hillary’s hero is Margaret Sanger. Do you know who that is?
Here’s one of her quotes: “ The most merciful thing that a family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.”
She was also a proponent of eugenics. Population control, especially for blacks, whom she considered inferior.
You know what else Margaret Sanger is known for?
She’s the founder of Planned Parenthood. The largest abortion provider in the U.S.
So no, I can’t get past it. I can’t support Hillary, and now I can’t support LeBron.
LeBron is a public figure who shares his politics, which is of course his right. However, he risks alienating fans like me.
As I think about my writing and taking up controversial topics, I too, might alienate some people.
After all, I’m in business. I want to attract new business associates. Clients. I want to attract readers to my blog. To my podcast. I want folks to buy my book and future books.
What’s a person to do? Do I just not write about sensitive subjects?
My model is Jesus.
How did he handle sensitive subjects?
Truth delivered with compassion didn’t exactly appeal to the Pharisees, yet The Message was still shared.
Ultimately, I decided to tell my stories, to be as respectful as possible, and to share the goodness of God along the way–regardless.
Go Celtics.
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