King Kong and LeBron

LeBron James has been known as King James since he came into the league five years ago. But lately, LeBron and another, less flattering King have been associated together.

This month’s Vogue cover is the cause. LeBron James and supermodel Gisele Bundchen are pictured together. LeBron is only the third male, and the first African-American male, to be on the cover of the fashion magazine. It should have been another shining moment in LeBron’s continued public relations domination.

Instead, by allowing himself to be pictured in an angry, fierce pose, with his arm around Gisele, LeBron is garnering comparisons to King Kong. 

ESPN.com writer Jemele Hill made that exact comparison, saying that pose on the cover “draw(s) a striking resemblance to the racially charged image of King Kong enveloping his very fair-skinned lady love interest.” And from looking at the pictures above, it may be true. For example, he is wearing all black and is bearing his teeth, and it appears to some people like she is the damsel in distress.

Hill and other bloggers, like Concrete Loop, make the argument that African-Americans have long been photographed like they are animals or beasts in the past, and by choosing to let this photo go on the cover, LeBron is just perpetuating a stereotype.

On some level, I feel differently. I feel that LeBron is just showing his masculinity and power. But I have not dealt with any serious racism personally. And if so many other people, especially African-Americans, are offended, James and his public relations people clearly have misread the situation.

For his part, LeBron said he does not have a problem with the photos and that he just wanted to show excitement and emotion. But a much better and safer route, especially from a p.r. perspective, would’ve been to go with the picture on the bottom right. It is clearly less offensive, and still makes LeBron look strong and powerful. Many bloggers agree – it would’ve made a much more positive impression for the first African-American on the cover of Vogue.

To solve this public relations issue, I think LeBron should’ve acknowledged the problem and THEN given his reasons for choosing that cover. But clearly, James has weathered much worse storms (a Yankees cap at Jacobs Field?) and come out smelling like a rose. There’s a reason LeBron is the face of the NBA, and its not just because he is the best player. He is also the smartest at managing his public image and carrying himself with grace in public.

In the end, LeBron will recover from this public relations fiasco. For now, I just hope the media can get over this cover and focus on James taking the Cavs back to the NBA Finals!