Sunday, September 27, 2020

OPINION

Someone's head is in the clouds, but it isn't LeBron'

Charita M. Goshay
The Repository Canton Ohio

Because we all could use a break from the nonstop drama, may I present the Rev. Sheila Zilinsky and her theory that LeBron James is secretly a wizard and card-carrying member of the Illuminati who conjures up demons by way of his pregame “chalk toss.”

No, really.

Someone - it wasn’t me - pointed out that James has that kind of power but he can’t regrow his fast-fading hairline?

If it truly is the case that James has the ability to conjure the Underworld, how then, to explain his leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers, not once but twice, when he simply could have used his hoo-doo to win-win?

Plus, with James being a faithful Northeast Ohioan, it only seems fair that he should have sprinkled a little magic dust on home plate at Progressive Field, and in the end zones at Cleveland Browns Stadium, commonly known as “the Factory of Sadness.”

At the very least, he could have prevented Hue Jackson from becoming the head coach in 2017, resulting in a historic 0-16 season, or are Cleveland sports teams so cursed that not even Beelzebub wants a piece of the action?

In 2016, James did carry the Cavs to the NBA World Championship, but what self-respecting wizard pulls only one rabbit out of the hat?

Zelinsky charges that James is engaging in black magic.

Well, he is Black, and he is pretty damned magical, even after 17 years.

James does have superpowers that have nothing to do with chalk.

His mantra is no spell, it’s simply this: “Nothing is given. Everything is earned.”

He has used his powers for good from the moment he was handed a cape.

Earlier this year, he used some of those powers to create More Than a Vote, an organization designed to help Americans to cast their votes.

More Than a Vote has secured Dodgers Stadium as a voting venue and is paying fines for some former felons in Florida, which has imposed a type of poll tax in the form of unpaid court fines.

Before you say that sounds reasonable and fair, ask yourself many Florida millionaires who have welched and dodged on their taxes and child support will be prevented from voting.

Now, does evil exist? Your answer probably depends on your belief system, your culture, even your politics.

If you believe in it, there’s no need to search for it in clouds of chalk.

Zilinsky, whose website describes her as a former top Canadian government official in the area of environmental policy, writes books and runs a podcast which she uses to spread her particular brand of Chrisitanty.

Among her other contentions are accusations that the Freemasons are fanboys of Satan, and that the Disney Co. uses “ Illuminati mind control” which has contributed to America’s spiritual demise. By positioning itself as a positive source of entertainment, Disney, Zilinsky argues, is manipulating Americans in plain sight.


Zilinsky has every right to worship and believe as she pleases. What she doesn’t have the right to do is impugn another person with baseless and scurrilous accusations.

There is a saying in evangelical circles that can be so spiritual that you are no earthly good.

James has used his power to ensure that hundreds of kids in Akron can attend the University of Akron tuition-free, and his LeBron James Family Foundation has helped numerous Akron families acquire safe and decent housing.

He and his business partner, Maverick Carter, have launched a media company to produce positive stories about the Black experiences which might not otherwise see the light of day.

He could just shut up and dribble as some have suggested he do. Instead, he has exercised his celebrity to speak truth to power.

October is around the corner, that time of year when the horror stories start to ramp up.

Clearly, we’re ahead of schedule.


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