LeBron James protected by the black community, writes ESPN.
LeBron JamesLeBron James, especially in Cleveland, is one of the most hated people in sports. His positive Q rating (the industry standard for measuring an athlete's familiarity and appeal) is way down and his negative Q rating went from 24 percent to 44 percent.
But that's not the case in the black community, writes ESPN's Vincent Thomas.
Meanwhile, LeBron's positive Q rating among blacks went from 52 percent in January to 39 -- a noticeable drop -- but his negative Q rating barely budged, going from 14 percent to 15. Among African-Americans, says The Q Scores Co. executive vice president Henry Schafer, the shift in opinion was mostly to neutral.
The general, expressed sentiment of African-Americans has been, "I may not have agreed with how LeBron carried the whole free-agency thing, but I'm not gonna hate the man." The more America shuns LeBron, the more Black America retreats to his corner. In fact, as America hates LeBron more and more, Black America's collective hug embraces LeBron tighter and tighter. It's called black protectionism.
Thomas writes how there are plenty of black folks who want LeBron to score 60 on the Cavaliers when he visits Cleveland and wouldn't mind the maligned Heat winning a championship.
Certainly Thomas didn't interview anyone from the black community in Cleveland. He may have gotten a different response. But Thomas concludes that the black protectionism is strong nationwide because of what he calls yahoos in Cleveland who burned jerseys.
He also writes:
Brewed smarmy beer called "Quitness," and putting up ingrate billboards. Frothy-mouthed Cavs owner Dan Gilbert made like Syndrome from "The Incredibles," sending out a maniac missive, stopping just short of calling down evil upon LeBron.
And for what? Why? Because "The Decision" was annoying and self-indulgent? I'm sorry, but Brett Favre was nowhere to be found on The Q Scores Co.'s top 10 most disliked list. And, dig this: America dislikes LeBron more than it dislikes Ben Roethlisberger. That's just not deserved. So, you know what? Enter the ride-or-die black community.