Oscar Grant and LeBron James – News of the Night
Oscar Grant, 22 year old, fatally shot by BART police officer, Johannes Mehserle, in Oakland, California.
It’s a shame that one of the more important news stories of the year is overshadowed by one of the most over-hyped moments in sports history. Tonight, a jury in Los Angeles convicted former BART officer, Johannes Mehserle, of involuntary manslaughter for shooting and killing Oscar Grant on a train platform. The video of this incident was viewed on the internet over and over again on YouTube, and for many viewers, it seemed like an easy determination that officer Mehserle clearly took out his gun, pulled the trigger and recklessly killed Grant. However, the jury determined that Mehserle involuntarily took Grant’s life, thinking he was shooting his Taser gun instead of his firearm. As an added bit of drama to this case, many activists are wondering why the 12 person jury did not have any African American jurors, though there were four Hispanics and one person of East Indian decent; the other seven being caucasian. This result reminds many African Americans about the other major police brutality cases of the last twenty years, with names that ring loudly in the “halls of injustice”: Rodney King, Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, and now Oscar Grant. Many African Americans are left to wonder what value do their lives have in this society when police officers continue to get away with these abuses of the members of the community. What will actually come of the rage and despair? We will soon find out.
In contrast to the Oscar Grant story, the nation was captivated by where LeBron James was going to choose to play basketball next season. He scheduled a one-hour program on ESPN to announce that he would be playing with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat. Now, clearly this could have been done in a ten-minute press conference and saved all the dramatic commercial break teasers for the next season of “CSI.” However, that’s not what happened here because LeBron wanted to have the spotlight on him. He wanted it to be the event of the summer… almost like a blockbuster movie being debuted on basic cable.
Lebron James from his televised announcement, “The Decision”
Even though I think this was extremely unnecessary, there was some importance in the event. I just do not think it was enough to overshadow a major decision in the criminal justice system in America and the city of Los Angeles, California in particular, which has not had a murder conviction of a police officer in a police shooting case since 1983.[1] Sports will always be important in the world. It is one of the few things that can immediately bring people together or tear them apart. We saw this with the run that Ghana had in the World Cup tournament of soccer this summer. Ghana brought the whole continent of Africa behind them. In fact, maybe the whole African Diaspora was behind Ghana… because of a sport. Nelson Mandela always talked about this phenomena, and this was part of the story behind the movie “Invictus.” So, I can’t be mad that LeBron’s decision was a big story in this country, and possibly the world, because sports can do that, it can capture the attention of the entire globe.
With that said, I have a few words on LeBron’s decision to leave Cleveland for warmer pastures in Miami. I cannot blame him that much. LeBron did as well as any athlete could do for one team. He frankly never had a good enough team to win the big trophy. Even with that said, he was able to win two NBA MVP’s, lead a team with the best record in the NBA twice, and have some of the most impressive statistical seasons since Magic, Jordan and Oscar Robertson. However, he could not get over the hump, and in some ways, I think he felt like he had reached a ceiling with the Cavs. Additionally, the Cavs had done nothing to prove that they could break through that ceiling if LeBron resigned with them… they still had a barely average team of supporting cast members. Remember, Magic had Worthy and Kareem; Jordan had Pippen, Grant, Armstrong, then Kukoc, Rodman and Kerr. LeBron had… Mo Williams, who could do no mo’ once the team got to the playoffs. So, he went to Miami to have a chance to play with Wade and Bosh… to be the new triple threat of the league. Whether that will work or not still remains to be seen. Egos will have to take a backseat, and with this hour-long special, LeBron has shown he has quite the ego. I am heartbroken for the people of Cleveland – they lost their hometown hero. However, it was almost like LeBron decided it was time to move out of his childhood house and go out on his own, just like many twenty-somethings do everyday in this country. Finally, with all that is going on in the world, it is hard to say that people should feel like they have to tune into the heavy news of the day. People do want to have their escape time, and LeBron provided that, because even people who normally have no interest in basketball tuned in to this program. I am sure ESPN is thankful for the program because that was the closest thing to having a Superbowl like audience for a program on their network. Nevertheless, we cannot get so lost in escapism that we forget about the things that really affect our lives. Oscar Grant lost his life for no reason. There wasn’t even a reason for Mehserle to even take out his Taser, forget the gun. Grant was face down on the ground with his hands behind his back. Cuff him and be done with it. It’s a shame, but that’s the news of the night.
Former BART officer Johannes Mehserle, right, appears in a 2009 file photo. (Cathleen Allison / Associated Press)
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