LeBron James And 7 Other Athletes Who Couldn’t Escape Racism

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A day before the start of the NBA Finals, LeBron James was expected to talk merely about basketball.

Instead, on Wednesday, James spoke to reporters about the n-wordbeing spray painted onto the front gate of his California home.

Speaking before the media, he offered a reflection,

No matter how much fund you have , no matter how famous you are , no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is tough.


Magic Johnson and Donald Sterling

As a businessman and part-owner of multiple dealerships, Magic Johnson was a peer of Donald Sterling, the shamed former owned of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Yet, how Sterling “was talkin about a” Johnson in private was telling.

The NBA legend was still at the center of a scandal that started with the revelation of an audio videotape on which Sterling appeared to ask a mistress to not bring black people, like Johnson, to Clippers games.


Serena Williams at Indian Wells

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In 2015, Serena ended her boycott of the tournament at Indian Wells. The tennis legend had avoided playing at the California-based event since 2001, when an ugly episode watched her roundly booed during the final of the tournament.

The backstory was that her sister, Venus, had pulled out of the tournament amid rumors that their father-god, Richard Williams, secured matches to help one of the sisters win.

In a Time magazine column, Serena said she seemed their was an undercurrent of racism to the boos she received all match long.

Meanwhile, her father-god claimedhe and Venus were the subject of racist scoffs on the same day. Richard Williams told USA Today,

When Venus and I were strolling down the stairs to our seats, people kept calling me[ expletive ]. One guy mentioned, I wish it was 75; wed skin you alive. Thats when I stopped and walked toward that way.

Then I realized that[ my] best bet was to handle the situation non-violently. I had hassle holding back tears. I belief Indian Wells dishonor America.


Mario Balotelli all over

Marco Luzzani/ Getty Images

There is no one incident to point to when it comes to the types of racist chants soccer star Mario Balotelli has faced.

He wassubjected to racist scoffs in Italy, his house commonwealth where he used to play, and, earlier this year, he faced similar chantsin France, where he currently plays.

Regarding the January incident, the playerwrote on Instagram,

So is racism LEGAL in France? Or merely in Bastia? Football is an astounding athletic .. those people like Bastia advocates make it horrible!

Ultimately Balotelli is just one of a number of athletes who has proven that no amount of money and reputation could make one immune to racism.

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