Wednesday night was when the WNBA and NBA went on strike. Several Major League Baseball teams joined them, as did tennis player Naomi Osaka. It was a powerful moment in sports, in racial justice, in social activism. The reaction, from where I sit, has been pretty positive. With so many athletes speaking up and demanding change, their leagues have been moving fast to stand with them. But for Jared Kushner, the son of a felonious slum lord who went on to become his own slum lord and marry the daughter of a slum lord, the protesting athletes are nothing but pesky rich folks who merely have the “luxury” of caring about other people, or caring about justice:
White House senior advisor Jared Kushner said Thursday that the NBA players refusing to play in protest of a recent police shooting are lucky to be rich enough to be “able to take a night off from work.”
Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son in law, was asked on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” about the decision of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic to stay off the court following the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot in the back by police in Wisconsin on Sunday.
“Look, I think that the NBA players are very fortunate that they have the financial position where they’re able to take a night off from work without having to have the consequences to themselves financially,” Kushner said. “So they have that luxury, which is great.”
“Look, I think with the NBA, there’s a lot of activism, and I think that they’ve put a lot of slogans out. But I think what we need to do is turn that from slogans and signals to actual action that’s going to solve the problem.”
Later Thursday morning, Kushner told Politico that while “it’s nice” to see the players speaking out, “I’d like to see them start moving into concrete solutions that are productive.”
Reminded that NBA superstar Lebron James has made significant contributions beyond protesting, Kushner said the Trump administration was open to starting a dialogue with him.
“If Lebron James reached out to the White House, or we could reach out to him, we’re happy to talk with him and say, ‘Look, let’s both agree on what we want to accomplish and let’s come up with a common pathway to get there,’” Kushner said. Kushner told Politico that he has not yet contacted James, but added, “I’ll reach out to him today.”
Imagine smarmy Jared Kushner looking down his nose at LeBron James, arguably the Muhammed Ali of this generation’s athlete-activists. LeBron didn’t even start it this time, he followed the Bucks’ lead, but his endorsement of the strike was a powerful message to his NBA and WNBA brothers and sisters. It’s not a “luxury” to strike for social justice, it’s a f–king necessity. Imagine dismissing “I can’t breathe” or “hands up don’t shoot” or “say her name” as meaningless “slogans” and not as cries for help from a community which has been systematically terrorized and murdered and enslaved for centuries. Jared Kushner always had daddy’s money and daddy’s connections and now his daddy-in-law’s White House to fall back on, why can’t other people be like that, right? It’s just so painful to see someone in his position as so… dismissive. Blasé.
Jared Kushner on athlete protests: “The NBA players are very fortunate that they have the financial position where they’re able to take a night off from work without having to have the consequences to themselves financially.” https://t.co/QFzdJo90YM pic.twitter.com/Jy4mzjlqoh
— CNBC (@CNBC) August 27, 2020
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Taking joy in imagining LeBron’s response to this reach out.
I think he already did. There was a tweet today I found. It didn’t refer to something but he pretty much said f—k this man etc. I now assume it’s about the Cryptmaster Jared.
@holly hobby Sad situation when there are so many trash males trying to ruin Black lives that it’s hard to know who Bron is referring to.
Jared Kushner would have to look up his nose at LeBron. Unless he were atop a ladder.
My intense hatred of this pampered ninny is such that I have nothing but personal attacks for him.
It’s incredibly rich of him to comment on the privilege of wealth. As if he has ever experienced anything else.
Same. He is such a loathsome excuse for a human being. And that’s the nicest thing I can think to say about him.
This. Bitch.
It’s my experience that people like this just can’t conceive that there are others out there not like them. Clearly, if they had the opportunity to get welfare they’d cheat, so everyone else must. Clearly activism just isn’t done unless…
Yeah, they’re idiots.
Kind of like “Let em eat cake”. We are heading into dangerous times.
See LeBron’s Sept 23, 2017 tweet that starts with “U bum”, Jared.
I am calling it- Jared looks like he is transitioning.
He does look like Caitlyn in early transition!
Ive seen before pics of him – he was cute before all the surgery! He got rid of his hooded eyes and dimples. Who gets rid of their dimples???
bingo
Such a good call. I noticed his face was so different (so much surgery) with really defined brows when he was on Fareed’s show this weekend
Agreed. Coupled with the fact that he was “accidentally” registered to vote as a female for like 8 years…
I get that the athletes are putting their careers at risk but they are also highly sought after commodities too and athletes like LeBron get that. They have the leverage, aholes like Kushner don’t. He’s being cloying, which is absolutely infuriating, but he’s still so stupidly wrong.
We’ll see how he and all the other idiot MAGAts feel if the NFL follow this pattern. Take football away from The Base. Let’s see how well that will work out. It’s a pipe dream, I know, but I dont want to piss on the momentum right now so I’m choosing to be optimistic. The NBA/WNBA and MLB support is huge but get some NFL blood in the mix and boy will we really have something. Fingers crossed.
I love what he said! What’s the point of a bunch of slogans? Decide the fine points of exactly what you want to accomplish, and come together and make it happen. Virtue signalling solves nothing.
It’s not the protesters job to create policy to address systemic racism..
Mia- gtfoh with your nonsense. These protesters have clearly said what they want: for black folks to not get shot for being black. And nobody is listening. Nobody’s been listening, which is why we are at this point.
White folks act like terrorists and take arms to state capitals to fight for the right to freely spread COVID-19, and almost immediately the states caved. Black people peacefully take a knee during the anthem for the right to live without fear of death by cop, and they are labeled thugs and traitors.
Black folks get tired of their cries for help being ignored over and over and decide to protest- they are called thugs and feds are called in to gas them, which leads to them erupting even more in anger, which leads white 17 yr old terrorists to take arms to the street to kill them. While cops applaud. Which only proves nobody is listening.
It ain’t the protesters that are the problem. It’s white dumbasses blaming and vilifying them instead of listening that are.
Btw- your use of “virtue signaling” tells me you are exactly the type who refuses to listen, so maybe try that next time instead of standing Jared Kushner.
^^^^ THIS. If anything, Jared is the one who’s “virtue signaling.” He dgaf about systemic racism.
Been black my whole life. Dont you dare tell me what I’m tired of.
Ive also been to about 30 protests in three states – some protesters are a HUGE problem.
Slogans do nothing.
Who said i stand for Kushner? That’s the problem – you people get so emotional that you cant think straight. You just want to hurl insults at the most benign of comments and talk over black women. I just agree that coming together to create policy is more productive. You can’t just say “don’t shoot blacks!” You have to create trainng and specific rules rules for deescalation. You have to take down the police union and hold bad cops accountable for all their wrongdoings.
Thanks for whitesplaing tho!
@MIA LETENDRE, pretty sure the “slogan” you’re snubbing IS the message. It’s very simple: STOP MURDERING US.
The policy has also already been made clear: reallocate police budgets, hold police accountable for deaths, move funding from police forces to education and job creation in Black and Brown communities. They KNOW what to do, but they don’t want to so they’re pretending no one has offered solutions.
I don’t know how you think oppression works, but those without power can’t really set the rules.
To be honest, I’m mad I just wasted my breath explaining to you what 5 seconds of research would accomplish. You, like them, don’t WANT to be educated or you would put in the work to learn.
Mia- I had no idea you were black, so how was talking over a black woman? I’m just whitesplaing white people, since I am white. The ones in power aren’t listening. No dialogue will happen until white folks in power are listening.
And Jared knows this and is just flapping his gums. And yes, I dare call out those blaming protesters and using ridiculous terms like virtue signaling to say Jared Kushner is the voice of truth. That’s not a race thing. Or emotional. It’s truth. Black folks got enough to worry about with trying to avoid getting shot by cops just for being at a Wendy’s drive-thru. They don’t need anyone, black or white, telling them they aren’t doing enough to end racial injustice among cops, that they need to figure out to fix things and work with the people killing them, and that their slogans are empty virtue signaling. Especially Jared Kushner.
They’ll be coming for you with tar, feathers and a good long stay in the stocks Jared. Soon…..
That “luxury” is why they have greater responsibility to do it – because they have money to deal with the legal ramifications of their strike and, more importantly, they’re costing other people money doing it. That’s a power that the elite have done well to convince people they don’t have, hence why you see so much anti-union propaganda, but the way to effect change in a lot of these industries is to make it too expensive not to. Otherwise, it’s all political action.
OKAY, first of all, Jared Kushner’s entire grotesquely mediocre existence is a cute “luxury” *rubs temples*
His face is so evil. Idk who is more evil-looking – him or Zuckerberg
I’m comforted knowing that Jared will not fair well in prison. Hopefully all the inmates will be saying “I went to Jared”.
You’re a prepubescent Patrick Bateman cosplayer who’s been cuckholded by your own father-in-law. F*ck all the way off.
Miranda your comment is GOLD!
I’m sorry, maybe I’m still drunk from last night… But is this douche saying that it’s the NBA’s responsibility to solve systemic racism? Not, you know, the governments? The jokes write themselves…
He looks like a creepy marionette that came to life. Scum of the earth.
Where is that cream pie-laden squad of ambushing clowns when you need them?!
This fool needs a serious dose of public shame.
And then he needs to disappear from our lives forever.
When are we bringing back the guillotine?
God, how I hate him. Karma, be a bitch to this mofo. He surely deserves it.
Why in the world is an advisor to the president stating that basketball players should be setting policies?! Isn’t that literally his job?? This fool is so clueless, lazy, and smug, which is always a horrible combination but given his position, its downright dangerous.
I CANNOT wait for November!!
Unfortunately none of the Trumps will go to prison due to being white and wealthy
Lol that’s rich considering he and Ivanka hold illegal positions in the WH and their “work around“ to it was to just not get paid to do it for four years!