Watch: LeBron James Speaks Out About Racism In NBA After Adam Jones Incident

LeBron James discussed his views on racist fans in the NBA following the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ 125-103 Game 2 home victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, and confessed he has also been the target of slurs throughout his career.

LeBron James, Draymond Green on Adam Jones Incident, Racism in NBA

“For me, I just try to be respectful, for one, to be respectful toward others,” James said. “I feel like if you do that consistently, then the karma will come back to you.”

The Cavs star, nicknamed “The King,” also spoke about the types of lessons he tries to teach his children regarding the respectful treatment of everyone, even those who look differently than them, but acknowledged he can only have so much control over them after a certain point.

“Racism, we know, exists,” James stated. “For me as a father, I try to just give my kids the blueprint on how life is going to be but at the end of the day… I can only tell them so much, and then they have to go out and live with themselves.”

The forward also discussed his take on the incident involving Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones, an African-American who was insulted with racial taunts during the team’s home opener against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Monday. James said he didn’t know the details of the incident (who said what, or everything that happened before and after), partly because he’s off social media at the moment, but said he has heard from several other athletes, both in the NBA and in other major sports leagues, that they believe Boston has a reputation for being a racist city. James, nevertheless, says he doesn’t remember ever being subjected to racist behavior in the city, partly because he makes a conscious effort to block out any unnecessary noise.

“I’ve heard a couple athletes say that, you know, you expect that when you go to Boston,” James said. “I’ve played in Boston a lot, but I just try to have tunnel vision when I play. I can’t recall me ever hearing something that was racist toward me.”

James also praised both the Orioles and the Red Sox for rallying behind Jones and even Boston fans for giving the outfielder a standing ovation at Fenway Park for his first at-bat the next day. The Cavs star finished off by citing the great work civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. have done, and said he hopes everyone in the sports world can continue their legacy of helping to unite everyone regardless of race or color rather than dividing with this type of hatred, which he said is “not good for society.”

“Racism is going to be around forever, I believe” James added in conclusion. “But I think for us, the people that have opportunities to have a voice or some kind of play on the youth that’s coming up, we have to lead them the best way we can and live with the results.

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, meanwhile, also revealed he related to the way Jones felt after Monday’s game because he too has been verbally abused with racial epithets. Green did not cite any specific examples or name any cities where this happened to him, however.

“I’ve gotten the N-word, all of that,” Green told The Undefeated on Tuesday night after learning about Jones’s incident in Boston. “I’d rather not get into [where]. A few places, especially being that it is me. Athletes are just not protected in that regard. Maybe something like [the Jones incident] will help.”

Jones said, after the way he was treated Monday, that there should be harsher punishments than simple ejections dealt to disrespectful fans. The outfielder suggested hefty fines among other things, and Green seemed to agree that stricter consequences were needed.

“Cheer for your team. Do what you want. But if I’m playing in the game and you’re cheering for your team, it doesn’t give you the right to say whatever you want to say to me,” Green also told The Undefeated. “This is my job, and I can’t go to your job and say whatever I want to you. If I went to someone else’s job and said whatever I wanted to say, I’d get arrested for harassment. It’s a fine line. I don’t think any league does a great job of making sure that athletes are protected.”

In a separate incident from Jones’ on Tuesday night, a fan called out a man at Fenway Park for directing racial taunts at a Kenyan singer who was performing the national anthem before the Red Sox’ game. The Red Sox banned the fan for life as a result, according to NPR.

“Yes, it was a racial comment,” Red Sox club President Sam Kennedy said in a statement from the team. “It was a racial comment used to describe the national anthem that was taking place, the performance of the national anthem. It was sickening to hear.”

James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become second on the all-time NBA playoff career scoring list with 39 points in Wednesday’s win, which put the Cavaliers up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. James now has 5,777 points and only trails Michael Jordan (5,987) in this category.

”You hear a name like Kareem, a guy who’s done so many great things, not only as an individual but as a teammate,” James said. ”Winning championships in the `80s and things of that nature and how many points he’s put up. He’s somebody you read about. I didn’t get an opportunity to actually watch him play growing up, but I just read about his accomplishments and things he was able to do, so, it’s pretty cool.”

Game 3 is Friday night in Toronto.

CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 7: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks for a pass while under pressure from DeAndre’ Bembry #95 of the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at Quicken Loans Arena on April 7, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Article by Pablo Mena