LeBron James speaks out on social media supporting Kyle Lowry

The 2019 NBA Finals drew headlines for all the wrong reasons following Game 3, as Kyle Lowry was shoved by a fan. LeBron James weighed in on what happened.

Most NBA fans have collectively rolled their eyes when there is a mention of LeBron James or the Los Angeles Lakers. They did not make the playoffs and for the most part, have embarrassed themselves and the NBA with constant drama and dysfunction. Yet, they keep getting mentioned in the media just as much as the teams in the playoffs.

Since April 9th when Magic Johnson resigned from his post as President of Basketball Operations, the Lakers have stayed in the media with missteps from coaching hires, fan protests and uncertainty in the front office. This offseason has played out like a bad reality show in front of the NBA world.

With all of these issues playing out while the NBA playoffs are at center stage in the sports world, most would think anyone from the Lakers organization, LeBron James included would keep a low profile.

LeBron James decided on Wednesday night that his voice should be heard, this time for a cause that is bigger than basketball.

Social media exploded after Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Stephen Curry had an epic performance dropping 47 points in a 123-109 loss to Toronto in Oracle Arena. No, it was not because of Joe Lacob’s wife leaning over Beyonce to talk to Jay-Z. That was trivial stuff that does not matter.

The real story that mattered happened during the game in the 4th quarter.

Kyle Lowry crashed into the front row trying to save the ball from going out of bounds. While getting up, he was shoved by Golden State Warriors investor Mark Stevens. It was reported that he also shouted obscenities at Lowry as he returned to the court.

At the time, no one really knew what was going on. Even the broadcast team was unaware of the depth of the situation. Mike Breen only noticed that Kyle Lowry was pointing demonstratively at Stevens. It wasn’t Jeff Van Gundy’s best broadcast moment when he mentioned that Lowry was crashing into the stands and what was the guy supposed to do?

Mark Stevens was immediately escorted from the building. But by the time the game was over, the Finals win by Toronto took a back seat to a bigger issue that goes past speculation of the Warriors winning Game 4. Now it was about one of the investors/minority owners of the Warriors crossing the line and should he even be allowed to be a part of the NBA.

Kyle Lowry made it very clear on what needs to happen from his perspective.

By then, ESPN’s Rachel Nichols released a tweet reporting that one of the minority owners/investor Mark Stevens was involved. The tweet also released a statement that Stevens was banned for the rest of the NBA Finals by the Warriors organization.

LeBron James jumped straight into the mentions tweeting that it was not enough. Then he went to Instagram and had a very lengthy and passionate post on behalf of Kyle Lowry.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByX_076gKD3/

Say what you will about LeBron James on the basketball court. But one thing is perfectly clear. LeBron James may not be the best player in the world, but he is the most INFLUENTIAL player not only in basketball but in professional sports. Stevens received a much stiffer penalty the next day. 

Mark Stevens received a one year ban from the NBA and a $500,000 dollar fine. This is a decision that will not be a popular one for many, starting with Kyle Lowry, who believes Stevens should have a lifetime ban from games at the most and divesting his part of the team and selling it at the very least.

With all of the issues with fans and players such as Russell Westbrook who recently had an incident where he was insulted by a fan in Utah. With that fan receiving a lifetime ban, it is believed by people other than Lowry that Stevens should get the same punishment.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has a major challenge facing him here. If you remember, his reputation as the best commissioner in sports was solidified by how he dealt with the Donald Sterling incident literally five minutes after he hung his law degrees up in his office. He realized the racial insensitivity of Sterling could potentially do irreparable harm to the league.

The way he handled that, along with his support of allowing players to voice their opinions, had gained him respect from his peers and players alike. After a decision like this, hopefully, Mr. Silver does not watch his reputation disappear in the wind.

Mark Stevens issued a public apology about the incident.

"“I take full responsibility for my actions last night at the NBA Finals and am embarrassed by what transpired,” he said. “What I did was wrong and there is no excuse for it. Mr. Lowry deserves better, and I have reached out today in an attempt to directly apologize to him and other members of the Raptors and Warriors organizations. I’m grateful to those who accepted my calls. I hope that Mr. Lowry and others impacted by this lapse in judgement understand that the behavior I demonstrated last night does not reflect the person I am or have been throughout my life. I made a mistake and I’m truly sorry. I need to be better and look forward to making it right. I fully accept the punishment administered by the NBA and the Warriors.”"

But is this going to be enough? With Stephen Curry already supporting Kyle Lowry and applauding him for his behavior, the NBA now have two of their biggest stars speaking out on a fair resolution.

In my opinion, LeBron James was right in speaking out and the example that he used. If the roles were reversed, Kyle Lowry would have been placed in the same crowd as Ron Artest for his actions in Detroit or Latrell Sprewell for his incident choking then Warriors head coach, P.J. Carlesimo.

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It would have been easy for him not to say anything and watch everything unfold like the rest of us. Like this summer when he spoke out against Donald Trump or when he wore the “I can’t breathe” shirts warming up during a game, he continues to use his platform to make a difference.

Social media can be misused at times to spread hate and false narratives, but LeBron James used hit platform EXACTLY the way it was intended.

On Twitter, James has a whopping 42.8 million followers. On Instagram, he has 49. 5 million followers. Sure he can have posts yelling out its TACO TUESDAY!

But, now he is using his platform to right a wrong and stepping up to the responsibility of being the face of the NBA and being a leader. This is the LeBron James that the NBA needs for the next few weeks.

Hopefully, this suspension is a temporary action until after the NBA Finals. There is too much good basketball left for this to be a distraction for the rest of the season. Maybe after the season, this will be revisited by the Warriors (Obviously, they are a little occupied at the moment) and the NBA after the season.

If there is a meeting between the league and its players, LeBron James needs to put on his suit and be front and center leading the players.

After all his voice should be the loudest in the room.