A conversation about what's going on in the world at any given point in time…and what I think about it. Occasionally, guest bloggers may appear. Viewer comments are welcome. Peace! Alpha Heel
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In recent years, the GOP has raised the specter of Voter ID as a stick that many Democrats and unaffiliated voters consider a disincentive to voting. By contrast, many Republicans argue that any adult can get a photo ID, and it just makes good sense to institute such a measure. A skeptic might argue that its interesting that almost none of them feel that way about requiring such a measure to acquire a gun…but that’s a debate for another day. As we close in on 2024, a Presidential Election year, this post is all about voting.
In short, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced yesterday, which ironically, was National Voter Registration Day, that the state will automatically register eligible Pennsylvanians to vote when they obtain or renew identification cards and driver licenses. In remarking about the move, Shapiro had this to say in a news release detailing the plan:
“I’m committed to ensuring free and fair elections that allow every eligible voter to make their voice heard. Automatic voter registration is a commonsense step to ensure election security and save Pennsylvanians time and tax dollars.”
Pennsylvania was a key battleground state in 2020. Most knowledgeable observers anticipate it will be again during the 2024 presidential election. As such, the state is likely to play a pivotal role in the fight for control of the US Senate, at which time, Pennsylvania Democratic Senator Bob Casey will be up for reelection. During the 2020 contest, the Keystone State was one of several states at the center of false claims about voter fraud promoted by the 45th POTUS, President Donald Trump and his allies and associates.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at this point, twenty-three mostly Democratic run states, plus Washington, DC have implemented some method of automatic voter registration. This is a proactive measure that serves as a carrot, in response to the GOP’s aforementioned stick.
As of yesterday, Pennsylvania residents who go to the state’s Department of Transportation driver and photo license centers to get new or renewal licenses and ID cards will be “automatically taken through the voter registration application process unless they opt out of doing so.”
Conversely, according to Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, a Republican nominated by Shapiro, in the past, eligible voters would have been required “to take additional steps to opt into the voter registration process. The voter is already in a state facility with their identification documentation in hand, and they will have their picture taken and sign their name electronically. Having all of that happen at the same time means the verification process is extremely secure and makes the registration more efficient.”
Not surprisingly, Pennsylvania House Republicans have pushed back against the Democratic Governor’s action, arguing this should have been done via the legislature…as if, the GOP legislature would have ever initiated such a pro-voter initiative. Fat chance!
State House Republican leader Bryan Cutler said in a statement provided to CNN:
“The problem here is not necessarily the end, but the means. This unilateral action on the eve of what is likely to be a hotly contested and close election will cause many Pennsylvania voters to continue to question the security and results of our system.” Does that sound like someone poised to push for enacting such a plan?
I don’t think so.
Based on information obtained from the Governor’s office, as of December 2022, 8.7 million Pennsylvanians were registered to vote. However, more than 10.3 million residents were eligible to register. Registered voters do not translate directly to the number of citizens who vote. But, almost certainly, if more than a million and a half more voters are registered, more people are going to vote. In our system of government, the higher the level of participation in the process, the more responsive our democracy. Based on both their political positions and their actions, we can be reasonably sure Republicans in general, and Republican elected officials in particular, do not agree with that principle. And that, gentle reader, is a shame. “Pennsylvania: Voter ID Counterpoint!”
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This post appeared originally in this space on September 7, 2011, commemorating the 10th Anniversary of Nine-Eleven. It was re-purposed and presented September 11, 2013, September 13, 2017, September 12, 2018, September 11, 2019, September 8, 2021 (20th Anniversary), September 14, 2022, and again today, September 13, 2023.
As I re-post this vintage edition of “Break It Down,” today is two days after the Twenty-second Anniversary of Nine-Eleven. I am ever mindful that it’s both, a day America will never forget, and a day that forever changed America’s worldview. In the span of 81 minutes in one late summer’s morning, in the second year of the new millennium, 19 Saudis grabbed America by its collective gonads, and squeezed. Unimaginably hard. We blinked. We gathered ourselves, but regrouping was a process. We fundamentally changed the way we meet and greet the world. We are more guarded, and security has a whole new meaning. We even invented an entirely new federal governmental agency (Homeland Security) to guard our public security, and monitor anti-terrorism, border security, immigration and customs, cyber security, and disaster prevention and management.
(From the Archives, September 7, 2011)
Do you remember where you were, Tuesday, September 11, 2001? This week we observed the 21st Anniversary of the day that has come to be known simply as, Nine-Eleven (9/11). That day 21 years ago, America lost, in one fell swoop, any notion of its blissful innocence, its long-standing appearance of invulnerability, and its deeply ingrained sense of security. By some accounts, what it retained is its self-righteous (some would say) belief in American Exceptionalismandentitlement; but that is a conversation for another post.
Suddenly we were at war, and the fight had uncharacteristically come to us, straightway. This battle was personal, and it was on our home turf; no longer some shadowy ideological military exercise, or guerrilla warfare episode, played out on foreign soil, half a world away.
U.S. House of RepresentativesJoint Resolution 71 was introduced with 22 co-sponsors (11 Republicans and 11 Democrats) and approved by a vote of 407-0 on October 25, 2001 (with 25 members not voting). The bill passed unanimously in the Senate on November 30, 2001. The Resolution requested that the President designate September 11th each year as Patriot Day. President George W. Bush signed the Resolution into law December 18, 2001 (as Public Law 107-89).
On this day, the President directs that the American flag be flown at half-staff at individual American homes, at the White House, and on all U.S. government buildings and establishments, home and abroad. This year President Biden, as President Trump and President Obama did before him, deemed the day one of National Remembrance and Service.
Even after 21 years; more than two decades worth of context building, and development of perspective, the numbers behind Nine-Eleven are chilling. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives, and thousands of others were injured, and many more sustained post-event traumas. Examples of the carnage include:
2,977 Victims killed (not including the 19 hijackers)
2,606 Killed at the World Trade Center Towers
87 Killed on American Flight/NYC World Trade Center North Tower
60 Killed on United Flight 175/NYC World Trade Center South Tower
A Medical Examiner will continue to try to identify remains in the hope new technology will lead to the identification of other victims. The death and destruction of Nine-Eleven led to the so-called Global War on Terror. Mostly the front lines have been in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, a central intent of the action has been to prevent a recurrence of Nine-Eleven-like events on U.S. soil.
The initial thrust began October 7, 2001 when the U.S., British, and Coalition forces invaded Afghanistan, and in March 2002, when the U.S. and Coalition forces launched Operation Anaconda and the Taliban suffered significant losses, and left the region. In the interim, involvement in the region has ebbed and flowed, but the war, which the Obama Administration referred to as Overseas Contingency Operation, continues. The War in Afghanistan is officially the longest war in American History. We have for some time been in the “every day is a new record” era.
U.S. Intelligence sources pointed to Al-Qaeda as the probable instigator behind Nine-Eleven. It’s leader, Osama bin Laden initially denied involvement. Over time, bin Laden became more emboldened, first conceding involvement, and ultimately admitting that he was instrumental in masterminding the horrific attacks. During his Presidential Campaign, Mr. Obama declared he would not relent in the hunt for Osama. The elusive terrorist was thought to be hiding in Pakistan. Mr. Obama stated bluntly that if reliable intelligence pinpointed bin Laden, he would deploy U.S. forces to find and kill him, which he did on May 2, 2011.
The good news is, over the course of the past twenty-one years, there have been no repeat Nine-Eleven scale events on U.S. soil. That result is partly due to fastidiously focusing on prevention efforts, partly a result of fortuitous failures of would-be terrorists, and partly a function of the fateful intervention of alert by-standers. Last year, President Trump negotiated an agreement to end America’s longest (20 years) war by May of 2021. President Biden, who succeeded Mr. Trump, committed to honor the agreement. Ultimately, he pulled American troops out of Afghanistan by August 31st. a pledge he ultimately honored, despite numerous suggestions, for a variety of reasons, that he abandon it.
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This post appeared originally in this space on August 31, 2011. It was re-purposed and presented again September 3, 2014, September 7, 2016, September 6, 2017, September 5, 2018, September 4, 2019, September 9, 2020, September 7, 2022, and again today, September 6, 2023.
As you know, Monday was Labor Day. As with most holidays, I knock it down a few notches so readers can enjoy their time off, and ease into a vintage post, if they so choose. At its core, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor Day in the United States was designed to commemorate the creation of the labor movement; dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday focuses on contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
First observed in September 1882, the event has always been observed on the first Monday of the month of September. Initiated by the Central Labor Union of New York, the celebration became a federal holiday in 1894.
In addition to its formal structure and purpose, Labor Day has several symbolic associations. It is considered:
The unofficial “End of Summer”
The last 3-Day warm weather weekend for vacationers
By High Society standards, the last day for which it is appropriate for women to wear white.
The last weekend before the start of the NFL Season
The conventional kick-off of the hard-core political campaign season
The culmination of back–to-School shopping
Labor Day also validates and recognizes an often-controversial mechanism that frequently divides American opinion: labor unions.
Scorned by many who fancy themselves as Free EnterpriseCapitalists, unions and their members have not only been actively involved historically, in debates that framed public policy for American workers, they have won or forced hard-earned concessions that in the shimmering glow of reflective perspective, must be considered to have fundamentally altered the playing field (known as the workplace), including:
Pensions
Health Care Benefits
Paid Vacations
Equal Pay to women
The Development of Child Labor Laws
The 5-Day Work Week
The 40-Hour Work Week
The 8-Hour Workday
Worker’s Compensation benefits
Obtaining the right for Female Flight Attendants to marry.
These and many other important cherished and beneficial employee rights are attributable to the efforts of the American Labor Movement. However, this post is not an ode to Labor Unions. For all their well-deserved accolades, unions also have downside effects. They can create or contribute to:
The potential for strikes
Additional costs to all employees (membership dues; whether a member or not)
Loss of individuality (ability to represent oneself in a grievance)
Subject employees to fines & discipline by the Union
Burdensome salary demands (relative to the market)
Loss of profits (and/or pay) due to strikes.
Inefficient & ineffective contracts
Increased unemployment due to failure to reach agreement w/management.
The first Labor Day celebration was led by a Labor Union. The history of the Day has been linked, inextricably, with Labor organizations, ever since. But it is the American Worker the Day was intended to commemorate.
Meanwhile, contemplate, “Labor Day: It’s All About The Workers Redux ’23!”While we’ve got plenty of issues to temper our enthusiasm, we should still celebrate America’s Labor Movement, and the phenomenal workers it represents.
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Before launching into the post, it’s certainly appropriate to contextualize my original blog. To do that, I note that post was about a young lion, Barack Obama, coming into what would become his era.
Tempus fugit (Time Flies)! Sunday marked a significant milestone in the life and development of “Break It Down!” I initiated this blog August 20, 2007, on a lark…almost a dare. That was sixteen years (and 834 editions) ago. Having related the story several times over the past several years, I will not repeat the complete details today.
I will note, however, that on that summer’s eve, I contemplated and discussed, in five paragraphs, the experience, or in reality the lack thereof, of then Senator Barack Obama, as he navigated the early stages of his historic Presidential Campaign.
So, this was the message in Post #1; five brisk paragraphs and a sign-off:
In an apparent calculated act of derring-do, Obama declares the virtue of inexperience. Gotta love it!
Personal footnote of recollection: I recall Jimmy Carter running the classic “anti-Washington” (i.e., lack of Capitol Hill experience) campaign in ’75-76. You know what, it worked.
The problem was, once JC sent all the reigning bureaucrats & policy wonks home, he was left with an assembly of newbies who didn’t understand how to get things done in DC. The result was that a very smart guy, genuine humanitarian, and erstwhile successful leader presided over what was widely perceived as a disastrous presidency. President Carter’s solitary term was fraught with innumerable policy failures (see the Shah of Iran, double-digit inflation, runaway gas prices, & the outrageous Interest/Mortgage rate morass) and public relations gaffes (remember the killer rabbit, and the failed helicopter gambit).
Fortunately for him he was able to live long enough and subsequently do enough good deeds to distance himself from most of an unremarkable tenure as a one-term president, followed by a resounding defeat by that cowboy actor Teflon guy.
Of course, none of that has anything to do with Obama…except in the unlikely event he prevails. If he does, let’s hope he doesn’t take that inexperience thing too far. As W constantly reminds us, getting to the White House is one thing (after all, he’s done it twice), providing prudent and effective leadership once there is quite another.
’06!
Posted on Mon, Aug. 20, 2007
With that I mind, I am inclined to look back on the first time I wrote, “Obama Plays the Experience Card,” and conclude that we (who should be a grateful nation) were very well served by that guy from Honolulu. So today, my emphasis is…“Obama Plays the Inexperience Card Redux ’23!”
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In 1871, the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, an English author, poet, and Oxford University mathematics professor, published the sequel to Alice in Wonderland, “Through the Looking-Glass,”
Looking glass is a somewhat old-fashioned, literary way to say “mirror.” The word glass on its own can mean “mirror” too, coming from a root meaning “to shine.” After Lewis Carroll’s book “Through the Looking-Glass,” was published in 1871, looking glass came to also mean “the opposite of what is normal or expected,”
For years, the Republican Party cut its teeth on the notion of morality, rectitude, and social rigidity. The Party, collectively, disparaged Democrats and liberals as the scalawags of society, while elevating the denizens of the Grand Old Party to the upper rungs of truth, justice, and the American way.
My, how the tables have turned. In 2016, Donald Trump emerged as the singular galvanizing force in the GOP. Trump, in laying claim to that august status, was the beneficiary of the party anointing him after he openly boasted of grabbing women by the genitals, asserted that he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose any votes, suggested Mexican immigrants were rapists and murderers, proposed building a wall, banning Muslims, ditching NATO, and articulated an inclination to believe Vladimir Putin, rather than his own intelligence apparatus.
After adding a couple of impeachments, Mr. Trump has now been indicted in four separate jurisdictions, New York (34 charges), Washington, DC (4 charges), Florida (40 charges), and Georgia (13 charges), totaling 91 charges. Still, many GOP House Members, countless other Republican elected officials, and millions of GOP voters stand solidly behind Trump. Perhaps the greatest slice of irony rises from the ash heap of Trump and 18 others, including Rudy Giuliani, were charged under Georgia’s RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), a law the Mr. Giuliani used to great advantage as a prosecutor in New York. A few days ago, Mr. Trump suggested that he needed one more indictment to secure the (GOP) nomination. Welp, he got what he appeared to be implying he wanted. I guess, in his estimation, it’s winning time.
Many of them proffer arguments ranging from the cases stem from a Biden Administration run amok, trampling the rights and legal protections of Republicans in general, and of Trump, in particular. They make this argument even though:
Local grand juries, not Biden, agreed to each of the indictments.
Over 60 courts, including the Supreme Court, rejected Trump’s stolen election arguments.
Trump, as with the “grab ‘em by the genitals” remark, was caught on tape asking a fellow Republican to find 11, 780 votes.
Reconstruction was a period of American History that spanned from December 8, 1863, to March 31, 1877. It was divided into 3 phases, Wartime Reconstruction, Presidential Reconstruction, and Radical or Congressional Reconstruction. Collectively, the era ended in 1877, when the United States pulled the last of its troops out of southern states. Reconstruction, implemented by congress, was aimed at reorganizing the Southern states after the Civil War, providing the means for readmitting them into the Union, and defining the means by which whites and Blacks could live together in a nonslave society. During this period, slavery was abolished, Confederate secession was eliminated, and the Reconstruction Amendments, 13th, 14th, and 15th, were added to the Constitution to add civil rights to the newly-freed slaves.
The period of Reconstruction was followed by post-Reconstruction, which included the Gilded Age (roughly 1877 to 1900), and the Progressive Era (roughly 1896 to 1917). The Gilded Age was a period of immense economic change, of great conflict between the old ways and brand-new systems, and of huge fortunes made and lost. The Progressive Era was a time of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste, and inefficiency.
In 1903, during the early stages of the Progressive Era portion of post-Reconstruction, W.E.B. Du Bois wrote a series of essays and sketches, entitled, The Souls of Black Folk. The book is considered a seminal work in the history of sociology and a cornerstone of African-American literature. The work includes a host of controversial and provocative premises, one of which is, “double consciousness,” which elevates the thesis that Black people must have two fields of vision at all times. “One ever feels his twoness; — an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. One of Du Bois’ more notable prognostications, included in the book, was that “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line.” In retrospect, not only did “the problem” Du Bois cite, endure for the entirety of a century, only four years old, when he labeled it, the dilemma has persisted through nearly a quarter of the 21st Century, frankly, with no prognosis of any end in sight.
This weekend, the 45th President made an appearance in Montgomery; Alabama’s Capital City, to keynote the State GOP’s Summer Dinner fundraising event. Trump remains a popular figure in Alabama. His appearance may or may not have been related to Montgomery’s other noteworthy weekend event. And to be clear, coincidences do happen.
What, you may ask, was the other notable event? Well, I’m glad you asked.
A brawl ensued on the Montgomery riverfront pitting people standing up for a Black riverboat worker against a group of white people who began beating him, ostensibly, for doing his job, which was asking them to move their illegally moored pontoon boat. Like most altercations in the social media dominated world we inhabit today, multiple videos of the events were posted to social media accounts.
The episode which featured a Black Co-Captain of a riverboat, his attackers, and the people who came to his aid, broke down neatly into a Black vs. white melee. Based on video accounts, the fracas appeared to have started with a one-on-one tête-à-tête between the Co-Captain of the riverboat, a Black man, and one of the passengers from the pontoon boat, a white man. The Co-Captain tried, in vain, to get the passenger to facilitate moving the pontoon boat so the riverboat could move into its allotted spot. While their discussion was intensifying, a second white man entered the picture, with a running start, and physically assaulted the riverboat worker. Did I say, the guy was simply trying to do his job? It was at this point, more people from the pontoon boat, most, if not all white, joined the festivities. Eventually, others from the Riverboat also joined the chaos.
Aside from possibly having been fueled by 45’s recent visit, Montgomery has a history of having played a central role in the slave trade. The city is often called the “Cradle of the Confederacy” because in 1861 it briefly served as the first capital of the Confederate States of America. By the start of the Civil War, Montgomery was one of the most prominent slave trading communities in the state, if not the nation. Joshua D. Rothman, a historian, and Chairman of the Department of History at the University of Alabama said, “slavery’s impact could be seen in everything.” He added that, “enslaved labor fueled the local economy and influenced everything from the political order to religious life.”
The essence of the post-Reconstruction era was the diminution of rights and privileges afforded during Reconstruction, from voting rights, civil rights, property ownership, and more. In contemporary America, the reversal of Roe vs. Wade, the advent of the anti-CRT movement, library closings, and the frequency of racial intolerance, which saw a significant uptick during and after twice elected Barack Obama’s presidency, and a further surge after 45’s election…e.g., the Montgomery incident, portray a certain sense of déjà vu. One might characterize it as, The Montgomery Chronicles: Post-Reconstruction 2.0
I first wrote about Henrietta Lacks and her miraculous story as part of a Black History Month series, in a post on February 3, 2010. To summarize, Mrs. Lacks, was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 1, 1951. Though treated for the disease, she lived only 6 more months.
Henrietta Pleasant was born in Roanoke, Virginia in 1920. She married David Lacks, and moved to Baltimore, where David worked in a shipyard. Her remains were buried in her native community, in Halifax County, Virginia.
Mrs. Lacks, who lived in relative obscurity attained notoriety after death. Her story was catapulted into the spotlight due to the unique characteristics of her cells. Johns Hopkins researchers discovered that her cells contained unique properties. The resulting breakthrough revealed a departure from anything scientists had seen before. The cells from Mrs. Lacks continued to grow, outside of her body, and after her death. In fact, they did not just survive, they multiplied. Four years after her death, cells from Mrs. Lacks’ culture were used to help Dr. Jonas Salk develop a vaccine for polio in 1955. Ironically, she had marched to help find a cure for that disease just before her cancer diagnosis.
As I noted back in 2010, and have mentioned in later reprising the story, Mrs. Lacks’ story is powerful in its simplicity. Absent a critical lens of inquiry, it has the sound of a saga about a young woman who died too soon, but whose death provided the gift of life, and healthier lives for countless others. The reality is that…and so much more.
Henrietta was a poor Black woman who was treated in some instances as incidental to the research conducted by hospital staff. Eventually, as the story gained traction, and became more widely disseminated, the precious cells Mrs. Lacks “donated” were given the name “HeLa,” in her honor.
The chief researcher of Mrs. Lacks cells, Dr. George Gey, had been searching for a way to keep cells alive outside the body. The cells taken from Henrietta were so incredibly aggressive that in a few short months, the cancer had spread throughout her entire body. The very properties that led to Mrs. Lacks demise, most likely served as the catalyst for Dr. Gey’s success in inducing cells to continue growing for more than a few weeks outside the body. Those same properties also led to breakthroughs in cancer research, drug testing, Dr. Salk’s polio vaccine, insight into facilitating the survival of other cells, and ultimately, a new paradigm in biology.
It was eventually discovered that HeLa cells are so ubiquitous that they literally took over countless cell samples, resulting in contaminating samples, and invalidating research results. That is unfortunate. But I submit, the real victims in the HeLa story are the Lacks. In addition to not gaining the requisite permission to extract Henrietta’s cell tissue for research purchases, the virtual explosion of the HeLa phenomenon had been unfolding for decades before the family ever learned of it.
The growth and sale of HeLa, which continues unabated today, has generated countless millions of dollars in sales revenue, lead to saving lives across American, and around the world, and furthered medical research initiatives for more than 70 years.
So, what have the Lacks gained from all these medical machinations, you may ask?
Nothing, nada, zero, zilch…at least, until yesterday.
Henrietta’s family filed a federal lawsuit in 2021 against a biotech company known as Thermo Fisher Scientific, alleging it was knowingly profiting from Mrs. Lacks’ tissue sample and cell line. Yesterday, the two parties reached a settlement.
Over the years, the cells have been used to develop the polio vaccine, in vitro fertilization, gene mapping, advances in cancer treatments, AIDS research, cloning, and stem cell studies, as CNN previously reported.
According to CNN and the Lack’s attorney, the family and the company reached a “confidential settlement” outside the court. At the news conference to announce the agreement, the Lacks family said the settlement will help the effort to keep Henrietta’s legacy alive.
“On her 103rd birthday, we got justice,” said Alfred Lacks-Carter, Jr., Mrs. Lacks’ grandson.
Ben Crump, one of the family’s attorneys, noted that he hopes the settlement will help further educate others about Mrs. Lacks’ legacy. He went on to say:
“This Black woman gave so much to the world, it’s good to give her a present back on her birthday.”
Thermo Fisher told CNN it was “pleased” a settlement was reached outside of court and declined to provide further comment on the case.
CNN reached out to The Johns Hopkins Hospital for comment on the settlement. Though the hospital was not names in the lawsuit, it is previously on record, having said, Mrs. Lacks’ tissue sample would not have been taken without her consent for use in scientific research today.
In a world of pithy aphorisms, there are a couple of contradictory ones that apply to this moment. First, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Without question, Mrs. Lacks’ immediate family was unable to benefit from this long overdue accord. Second, “Better late than never.” After 72 years, it would have been easy to give up. Fortunately for the current and future Lacks progeny, the Lacks did not know the meaning of quit. And so, today, and evermore, we have, “Henrietta Lacks: A Legacy That Will Live Forever!”
The saga of LeBron “The King” James has largely been epic; even storybook in nature. He was one of the last greats to make the transition from high school to the NBA. Not only did he make it in the NBA, but he forged a career that has him deemed by many to be the greatest to ever do it. As he is poised to begin his 21st year in The League, his teams, three different franchises, have won four NBA Titles, he has won 4 League MVPs, and this past season, he eclipsed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s All-Time Leading Scorer.
There is little left for LeBron to accomplish, in terms of burnishing his career. However, he has spoken fondly in recent years about the prospect of playing long enough to share the court with his son Bronny (LeBron Raymone James, Jr.), for at least a year. After a tough playoff loss this past season, Lebron momentarily expressed uncertainty about his playing future. After losing to the eventual NBA Champion Denver Nuggets in the Conference Finals, The King voiced the possibility of retiring. Most insiders doubted he would really retire, as that would conceivably deny him the opportunity to play with Bronny.
On Monday, Bronny, a rising freshman, anticipated to be a one and done prospect, suffered cardiac arrest during basketball practice at the University of Southern California where he is matriculating. USC medical staff treated him and transported him to the hospital. By yesterday, he was in stable condition, and out of ICU.
The James family issued a prepared statement:
“We ask for respect and privacy for the James family, and we will update media when there is more information.
“LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes.”
Bronny is 18, and an incoming freshman for USC’s basketball team. He is a 2023 graduate of Sierra Canyon High School in Los Angeles, where at 6-foot-3, he was rated a 4-star recruit, and excelled in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game this past March. As a senior, he averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.7 steals. He chose Southern Cal over Ohio State University, and the University of Oregon.
In 2022, James told the Athletic, “Wherever Bronny is at, that’s where I’ll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It’s not about the money at that point.”
Just two weeks ago at the ESPY Awards, LeBron stood on stage with his family, wife Savannah, sons Bronny and Bryce, and daughter Zhuri, who he described as the “greatest blessing in my life.” Of his sons, he said, ”I’m so proud of these two men standing right behind me tonight. See, they’re on their own basketball journey. And no matter how far they choose to go, they’re not cheating this game. And that inspires me.”
Bronny’s experience harkens back to January 2, when Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest during a Monday Night Football Game between his Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, when he collapsed after an open field tackle against a Bengals wide receiver. It’s another reminder that the games we enjoy so much carry risks that we seldom consider.
Hamlin was cleared to return to action this past April. It’s too early to tell whether Bronny’s fate will be as promising. There are batteries of tests that must be taken and evaluated to determine the root cause of his medical event. Meanwhile, LeBron’s dream of playing alongside Bronny is on hold, at least temporarily, as his health, safety, and full recovery take center stage.
On the question of the GOAT, people who know me are fully apprised that I’m Team Jordan. But for the purposes of this post, it is my sincere hope that as Bronny recuperates, we can put our allegiances to the side, and all be, Team James. “Prayers For A Prince!”
BREAK IT DOWN! 