LeBron James is about to make history yet again. The 39-year-old NBA superstar, about to compete in his fourth Olympics, will be one of two flag bearers for the U.S. Olympic team in Paris on Friday. (Coco Gauff, the 20-year-old reigning U.S. Open champion, will be the woman athlete carrying the flag.) Surprisingly, James will be the first men’s basketball player to carry the flag for the U.S. As he is arguably the greatest player to ever lace them up, he is a fitting first.
“It’s an incredible honor to represent the United States on this global stage, especially in a moment that can bring the whole world together,” James said in a Team USA statement. “For a kid from Akron, this responsibility means everything to not only myself, but to my family, all the kids in my hometown, my teammates, fellow Olympians and so many people across the country with big aspirations. Sports have the power to bring us all together, and I’m proud to be a part of this important moment.”
Floating in a boat on the Seine in Paris while waving the American flag is indeed a long way from Akron, Ohio.
James was voted to carry the flag by the other Olympians on Team USA. This is a vital detail, because the flag bearers are not usually the competitors with the most fame but the most game: the people whose athletic performances inspire documentarians for decades. But James, while certainly having the game, is a different kind of figure. He’s not so much an athlete as he is a brand, an institution, a corporation and a political lightning rod. It’s that last point that makes members of Team USA choosing him to represent them particularly significant.
In 2012, James helped organize his then-Miami Heat team to speak out against the killing of Trayvon Martin by the self-appointed neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman. He has spoken out forcefully against police brutality and racism. He was perhaps the most famous voice to say “Black lives matter.”
The choice of James is particularly fascinating when one considers the amount of time the GOP, Fox News and Donald Trump have spent vilifying him. In their minds, James refusing to uncritically “back the blue,” calling out anti-Black racism and defending the right of athletes to express their dissent by kneeling during the national anthem was proof that he didn’t love his country. Fox News’ Laura Ingraham infamously suggested that he “shut up and dribble.” We saw the same criticism lobbed at Colin Kaepernik, who was then a quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers. When he initiated the national anthem protests that inspired other athletes including James, Trump said he needed to “find another country.”
James’ ventures into politics haven’t always gone smoothly. The NBA’s lucrative relationship with China is a topic James has fumbled, as his own financial entanglements have kept him from speaking out against the injustices of the Chinese government. But James has rarely, if ever, looked afraid to put himself out there. This has been in sharp contrast to the player against whom LeBron will always be measured: Michael Jordan. When Jordan was playing, he eschewed involvement in political matters.
Coco Gauff, who like James was also chosen by Team USA, has also been politically brave.
It must be mentioned that Gauff, who like James was also chosen by Team USA, has also been politically brave. She gave an extemporaneous speech at a Black Lives Matter rally in her hometown of Delray Beach, Florida, when she was just 16. And in a May interview with The Associated Press where she talked about preparing to vote for the first time, she sharply criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ leadership. She called it “a crazy time to be a Floridian, especially a Black one at that.” She said, “We aren’t happy with the current state of our government in Florida, especially everything with the books and just the way our office operates.”
By selecting James and Gauff, this generation of young athletes — some of whom weren’t born when James began his illustrious career in 2003 — are rejecting the template set forth by the right wing that dissent, protest or even tolerance is inherently against the best interests of the country. Choosing James and Gauff is a rebuke to the forces of division. It’s a reclamation of the idea that marching forward is preferable to looking — and acting — backward. And it’s a rebuke of the idea that criticizing what’s happening in your country doesn’t mean you don’t love it.
