Jersery Buring
The idea of burning jerseys started in 2010 when LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers. This began due to a way in which he left. People in the community felt betrayed and abandoned. The jersey burning movement is a very similar to the teams kneeling for the national anthem, and today, jersey burning is actually used as a way to call out and protest that as well [3]. Fans felt as if James had betrayed them as a player. James didn’t care that he caused this up-rise in the community since he was still getting paid and it didn't effect his playing. This event played more of an emotional toll on James. He had to deal with death threats, people protesting, and an abundance of negative energy from the community. Although all of his followers were using their freedoms to express their feelings, it didn't allow James to use his freedoms to express his emotions. The community was not thinking of James as a human, rather they were treating him as if he was a commodity due to what he was able to contribute to the city of Cleveland. James contributed to the economy and was responsible for the rebuilding of Cleveland [1]. He did this because he was such a great player and was able to bring so much support and money to Ohio. When he left Cleveland, everyone was very upset and felt betrayed by him. [2]
CitationsWritten Text:
[1]NBA.com. “LeBron James Says Burning of Jerseys 'Is Getting Ridiculous'.” NBA.com. NBA.com, August 24, 2017. https://www.nba.com/article/2017/08/24/lebron-james-fed-fans-burning-jerseys. [2]Sport, Guardian. “'LeBron Stands for Money': Hong Kong Protesters Burn James Jerseys.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, October 15, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/15/hong-kong-protestors-burn-lebron-james-jerseys-nba. [3]Walker, Patrik. “Eagles Fans Burn Carson Wentz Jersey after Blowout Loss to Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.” CBSSports.com, October 21, 2019. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/eagles-fans-burn-carson-wentz-jersey-after-blowout-loss-to-cowboys-on-sunday-night-football/. Images: |
LeBron James jersey being burned
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