Last year when Ira Newble was with the Cleveland Cavaliers he discovered the horrors that were happening in Darfur, a region in the African country of Sudan. After doing a bit of studying, Newble realized how the country of China was supporting the economy of Sudan, in turn which was used to buy weapons, food and vehicles to continue to oppress the residents of the Darfur region. Newble wrote a letter condemning China's involvement and asked everyone on his team to sign it. Everyone did except Damon Jones, who had a contract with a Chinese shoe company, David Wesley, who was gone, and LeBron James, who said he didn't know enough about the situation to put his name down.James was dragged through the wringer by the media and bloggers worldwide saying that he only cared about himself and his business interests and not the well-being of humankind. James does have some interest in China though, including a museum in his name, Nike shoes that are only marketed in the country (the company has its own interests in the country), and the NBA has been trying to woo the Chinese to pro basketball for years. But on Sunday, James finally spoke to ESPN's 'Outside the Lines' about why he didn't sign the letter and his thoughts on the situation. "I didn't sign the letter right then and there so now it's blown up," James told 'Outside the Lines' Shelley Smith. "No one heard my side of the story, but automatically it's 'LeBron didn't sign the letter, he doesn't care.' But for me to try to create awareness of the situation that's going on in Darfur and other places, for me, in the position I am, I should speak on it and I am gonna speak on it."
He told Smith that he'd been studying about the Chinese-Darfur situation and realized that his voice is powerful and would like to make a difference and help create awareness when he goes to Beijing for the Olympics.
"At the end of the day we're talking about human rights," he said. "And people should understand that human rights and people's lives are in jeopardy. We're not talking about contracts here. We're not talking about money. We're talking about people's lives being lost and that means a lot more to me than some money or a contract."
1. Spoken like a true leader.
We were all so quick to judge him... but when it comes down to it he was being responsible. He didn't want to join something he knew so little about.
So he did his homework. He researched and read up on the atrocities going on in Darfur, and now he is back to raise awareness.
Its amazing to see these athletic 'giants' stepping up to use their voice for all the voiceless in Darfur. James said it best himself, "At the end of the day we're talking about human rights...And people should understand that human rights and people's lives are in jeopardy. We're not talking about contracts here. We're not talking about money. We're talking about people's lives being lost and that means a lot more to me than some money or a contract."
Brittany Ferguson at 11:57AM on May 19th 2008