Thursday, March 28, 2024

Tamir Rice’s Mother: LeBron James’ Response to Son’s Death is ‘Quite Sad’

samaria_rice*LeBron James’ response to the death of Tamir Rice has disappointed many people, including the 12-year-old boy’s mother.

Madame Noire cites an interview with “News One Now’s” Roland Martin that included Samaria Rice addressing James’ reaction to the case involving her late son, which has generated mixed opinions among folks. Since the officers responsible for Tamir’s death were not indicted, an effort sparked online, with folks using the hashtag #NoJusticeNoLebron in an effort to prompt James to sit out Cavalier games until the matter was investigated by the Department of Justice.

In Rice’s eyes, the Cleveland Cavaliers star player could have done more to bring her son’s death and the non-indictment of the officers responsible to light.

“Well, I think it’s quite sad that LeBron hasn’t spoken out about my son,” she told Martin. I’m not asking him to sit out a game. I know his kids have to eat too. But you can at least put a shirt on or something. Some of the other athletes, some of them have been saying something. Some of them haven’t. I think they should just make a statement. I’m not asking anybody to quit their job. But make a statement for us Black people out here. It’s just sad that nobody’s saying anything.”

Rice’s comments came after James cited a lack of knowledge about Tamir’s case as his reason for not doing taking a full-fledged stand for the young boy.

“For me, I’ve always been a guy who took pride in knowledge of every situation that I’ve ever spoke on. And to be honest, I haven’t really been on top of this issue. So it’s hard for me to comment. I understand that any lives that [are] lost, what we want more than anything is prayer and the best for the family, for anyone. But for me to comment on the situation, I don’t have enough knowledge about it,” the NBA all-star said.

“I caught a little bit of it from my folks on the side saying that you guys might ask me about it, but I have no knowledge. I’m not much of a social media guy. I’m on it, for sure, but I’m not always looking at what’s going on in it.

“First of all, I think I’ve been very outspoken about what I believe in. What hits home for me, what I am [knowledgeable] about. There’s been so many more issues that’s gone on that I haven’t spoken about,” James continued.

“There’s been the San Bernardino massacre, there’s been guys going in movie theaters, shooting up movie theaters, there’s been other issues. Those are not something that … I don’t have much knowledge of so I don’t speak about it. So for me … if I feel like it’s something that I have a lot of knowledge about [I’ll add my voice to the issue], because I don’t like to speak when I don’t know about it.

“But I think the most important thing that we all need to understand, the most important thing, this issue is bigger than LeBron. This issue is bigger than me; it’s about everyone. And gun violence and tragedies and kids losing lives at a young age, some way, somehow we need to understand that that matters more than just an individual.

James’ response, or lack thereof in the eyes of many, contrast the stand he took regarding the death of Eric Garner. Reacting to officers involved in that case not facing criminal charges, the athlete noticeably wore an “I Can’t Breathe” shirt. Considering his response to that situation, some expected James to be among those voicing his disappointment in the non-indictment, while others felt he and other athletes should not have to be urged to speak out.

To see Samaria Rice’s entire interview with Martin, check out the video below:

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