LeBron James did something this weekend that was undeniably offensive. On his Instagram, he posted the words, “We been getting that Jewish money. Everything is Kosher.” The words came from a rap lyric, but that didn’t matter to me. If a white athlete drops the n-word on social media and says, “Hey, it was from a rap lyric,” that would still be offensive to most of us.
Then James gave what seemed like a classic “if” apology: “Apologies, for sure, if I offended anyone.” Those are maddening. They feel like non-apology apologies, putting the onus on the offended—like slapping somebody across the face and saying “I’m sorry if you thought that was painful.