Ralph Nader Calls Out LeBron

It should come as news to no one that Ralph Nader has a problem with Nike. The sneaker giant's sweatshops are the industry's dirty little secret, one that activist have been trying to air out for years. But apparently, Nader has been trying to directly challenge LeBron on the subject. The whole thing is at Infoshop News, but this passage is my personal favorite:

But there are others. For example, athletes like Etan Thomas, Steve Nash, Carlos Delgado, Martina Navratilova, Adonal Foyle, Adalius Thomas, Josh Howard, Adam Morrison and others have all raised their voices against the war and occupation of Iraq.

Ralph: None of these players were ever handed $100 million by the U.S. Government. I respect them for speaking out, but it's a lot easier to do this when the country's divided on the issue and no money is so obviously at stake.

The letter goes on to praise Marbury for making cheap shoes, before pointing out that those are also probably made in sweatshops. Which brings me to my point: addressing Marbury would make a lot more sense, since he's more small time, and more independent with his sneaker hustle. James has been swallowed up by the belly of the beast, and is getting paid like a madman for it. Expecting him to take a stand is like asking the king to create a democracy: inspiring, but hopeless.