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Jesse Jackson: LeBron Treated Like a 'Runaway Slave'

Reverend Jesse Jackson isn't taking Cleveland Cavalier's owner Dan Gilbert's comments about LeBron James lightly. Gilbert recently made headlines for writing a scathing open letter to James after the star basketball player signed with the Miami Heat last week. In his letter Gilbert called James "disloyal" and added that Cleveland fans didn't "deserve this kind of cowardly behavior." Jackson says Gilbert spoke like "an owner of LeBron and not the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers." Here's what you had to say: Jeri commented via Facebook: "Any career-minded person knows that it is respectful to give your boss notice. I bet if you quit your job on national TV and didn't give your boss or company any notice he would say the same thing about you too." Elaine wrote via Facebook: "If someone is using you for their own selfish gains and then once you leave they try to destroy you even more, sounds like the slave master is angry to me."
Jesse Jackson: LeBron Treated Like a 'Runaway Slave'
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By Essence ·
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Reverend Jesse Jackson isn’t taking Cleveland Cavalier’s owner Dan Gilbert’s comments about LeBron James lightly. Gilbert recently made headlines for writing a scathing open letter to James after the star basketball player signed with the Miami Heat last week. In his letter Gilbert called James “disloyal” and added that Cleveland fans didn’t “deserve this kind of cowardly behavior.” Jackson says Gilbert spoke like “an owner of LeBron and not the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers.” “He sees LeBron as a runaway slave,” the reverend told the Associated Press. “LeBron is not a child, nor is he bound to play on Gilbert’s plantation and be demeaned. He has been a model citizen and has inspired the children of Akron. Cleveland, the state of Ohio and the United States.” Jackson’s comments made him a trending topic on Twitter last night. Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith chimed in, tweeting: “I do not think it was right for Jesse Jackson to bring up race. However, I do believe his sentiments are shared by a lot of folks in the African-American community.”