In this video from a 2010 episode of HLN‘s The Joy Behar Show, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill and Rev. Jesse Jackson talk about the racial overtones at play regarding Dan Gilbert’s treatment of then-free agent LeBron James.
After James decided to leave Cleveland for Miami in 2010, Gilbert, the Cleveland Cavaliers owner, was heavily scrutinized for his comments about the superstar. The owner called him selfish and deemed the move a betrayal to the fans.
Jackson tells the host that Gilbert is upset primarily because of the financial caché the NBA star brings to the city. Gilbert was building a casino at the time and Jackson alludes to that in the clip. The reverend also discusses his comments, claiming that Gilbert has a “slave master mentality” — which means that James was treated like a runaway instead of an independent man.
Hill piggybacks off the term, stating that because there are more white owners controlling the Black players, there is an “inherently exploitative” relationship at play.
