If they're taking nominations for "sportswriter of the day," the New York Post's Phil Mushnick gets my vote. In a media industry filled with lemmings too politically correct to ever question anything LeBron James says or does, no matter how crude and vulgar, Mushnick is calling out James' for his ignorance on racial matters. Mushnick, who is Jewish, criticized James for insulting Jews and then issuing a non-apology apology.
In a recent Instagram post, James wrote the following words from a rap lyric: “We been getting that Jewish money. Everything is Kosher.” Media treatment of James was generally mild. SBNation's Alex Kirshner accepted his apology and said, "The NBA does, too, and won't take further action. This story will fade away shortly, and LeBron will return to making more positive headlines both on and off the floor."
Also in December, James wrote, “In the NFL they got a bunch of old white men owning teams and they got that slave mentality. And it’s like, ‘This is my team. You do what the f–k I tell y’all to do, or we get rid of y’all.’” Eric Barrow of The New York Daily News and other media merely reported what he said without offering any criticism of the iconic progressive athlete.
Another athlete might have drawn a strong reprimand from the NBA, if not punishment. But for the King, he got a pass ... until Mushnick weighed in:
"As for his own bigotry …
"While some race-based news makes a flood, some makes puddles that quickly dry after brief exposure to light. Thus James’ recent reference to Jews and “Jewish money” (see: Goebbels, Joseph) while teamed with rapper 21 Savage (his songs include FNB, for “F–k N—a Bitches”), has been issued the standard double-standard look-away pass."
Mushnick writes that James’ non-apology apology "was bereft of now-I-get-it contrition." James defended his actions by saying:
“Apologies, for sure, if I offended anyone. That’s not why I chose to share that lyric. I always [post lyrics]. That’s what I do. I ride in my car, I listen to great music, and that was the byproduct of it. So, I actually thought it was a compliment, and obviously it wasn’t through the lens of a lot of people. My apologies. It definitely was not the intent, obviously, to hurt anybody.”
As a Jew, Mushnick says he was more offended by such a "dismissive, no-hard-feelings alibi. As black America continues to be represented by race-hustling, media-empowered charlatans such as Louis Farrakhan ('Jews are bloodsuckers') and wink-and-nod anti-Semite and selectively outraged Rev. Al Sharpton, and, lest we forget, Rev. Jesse 'Hymie Town' Jackson, I often wonder what young blacks are taught about Jews."
Mushnick points out that, more than a century ago, “Jewish money” in New York helped found the NAACP and endowed urban hospitals that turn no one away. He asks if young African-Americans know that Jewish Americans shed their blood in civil rights marches in the 1960s.
Continuing on, Mushnick writes:
"Why are American blacks urged to resent Jews? For their prosperity? For their charity? For their centuries of refusal to be annihilated? For their emphasis on education and devotion to family?
"Where was black leadership to condemn James or at least issue a mild scolding? But such conspicuously unfair play is knocking the liberal out of the right-headed."
After criticizing James for his attack on NFL owners, Mushnick asks, "Can he be that lost? That’s the term of employment for all, the butcher, baker and candlestick maker.
"To compare athletes making an average of $2.1 million for seasonal work to Antebellum whips-and-chains slaves is disgusting. NFL 'slaves' have the one great freedom Southern slaves did not — the freedom to quit."
After witnessing the NBA and sports media yawning over James' offensive behavior, Mushnick laments the light tap on the wrist experienced by the Los Angeles Lakers' untouchable superstar:
"But, again, no big deal and James moves merrily along. He’s entitled as a basketball superstar and racial activist — even if he favors artists who sing 'F–k N—ga Bitches.'”
