*Civil rights activist Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic H.O.P.E., is calling for a boycott of all products that NBA All-star Kobe Bryant endorses. This includes his jerseys, and signature gym shoes. The call for the national boycott is in response to Bryant’s negative comments concerning the Miami Heat’s support of the Trayvon Martin family.
In the March 31 issue of the New Yorker. Bryant discussed life and race with Ben McGrath. When McGrath asked Bryant’s opinion on the Miami Heat’s show of solidarity with Martin in the now iconic “hoodie” photo, the LA Lakers star stated:
“I won’t react to something just because I’m supposed to, because I’m an African-American,” Bryant said. “That argument doesn’t make any sense to me. So we want to advance as a society and a culture, but, say, if something happens to an African-American we immediately come to his defense? Yet you want to talk about how far we’ve progressed as a society? Well, we’ve progressed as a society, then don’t jump to somebody’s defense just because they’re African-American. You sit and you listen to the facts just like you would in any other situation, right? So I won’t assert myself.”
Here’s Najee Ali’s response:
“Bryant comments concerning the Heat’s support of Trayvon Martin are indefensible. When Bryant butt raped a white woman in Colorado who was a complete stranger. Bryant was arrested and charged with rape. He begged for immediate support from the African-African community. Bryant even went as far as to quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (incorrectly I may add in his defense.) The only reason Bryant is not sitting in a Colorado prison and registering as a sex offender is because he paid the victim off in a settlement offer.
“Bryant’s comments show his lack of compassion for the Martin family and their supporters. Americans of all races didn’t support Trayvon because he was African-American. We supported him because he was an unarmed youth who was racially profiled, stalked, confronted, and then murdered by George Zimmerman. African American youth should no longer buy Bryant’s jerseys or shoes and should boycott all products he endorses. Bryant doesn’t identify with the struggle that our African-American youth face nationally. So why should we continue to support Bryant who has never truly identified with the African American experience.”
For more info, Najee Ali can be contacted at mrnajee@aol.com
Hmm, maybe Jim Brown was right about Kobe:
SOURCE: EURweb.com
Article and Pictures Courtesy of EUR Web
Video Courtesy of The Arsenio Hall Show and EUR Web
