FLASHBACK: 5 Social Media Posts From LeBron James That Caused A Stir
NBA star LeBron James made waves on Wednesday when he tweeted a picture of the white Columbus, Ohio police officer who shot and killed 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant.
“YOU’RE NEXT. #ACCOUNTABILITY,” he tweeted with an hourglass emoji.
Twitter users were quick to call out James for failing to mention that Bryant was wielding a knife at another teenager when the officer arrived at the scene.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, the officer responded to a 911 call from a distressed individual saying multiple women were attempting to stab her. Bodycam footage from the incident showed officers arriving to find Bryant wielding a knife at two girls, at which point the responding officer stepped in and fired his service weapon as she appeared to be attempting to stab one of the victims.
“She came at her with a knife,” an officer can be heard saying in the video.
Bryant was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, where she was later pronounced dead.
The Lakers player ultimately deleted the tweet in question.
Deleted pic.twitter.com/Xqoasasev4
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) April 21, 2021
James followed up with multiple explanations for deleting his original post.
“ANGER does any of us any good and that includes myself!” the first tweet said. “Gathering all the facts and educating does though! My anger still is here for what happened that lil girl. My sympathy for her family and may justice prevail!”
I’m so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate -This isn’t about one officer. it’s about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 21, 2021
“I’m so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police,” James said in the second tweet. “I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate -This isn’t about one officer. it’s about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY.”
But this isn’t the first time James has gotten political on social media. Here are five recent social media posts from the world’s most famous basketball player that caused a stir.
5. Earlier this month, James declared himself a member of the Major League Baseball “family”
“Proud to call myself a part of the @mlb family today,” the basketball player said in response to the MLB pulling the All-Star game out of Georgia.
James failed to mention that the All-Star game was moved to Colorado, a state with stricter voting requirements than Georgia.
Proud to call myself a part of the @mlb family today. @Morethanavote #BlackLivesMatter 🙏🏾✊🏾👑
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 2, 2021
4. Earlier this year, the NBA star claimed Georgia’s voter integrity law was about “voter suppression.”
“I hope y’all understand Black voter suppression doesn’t stop on Election Day. It’s just going to get worse because they know what we did,” James tweeted.
I hope y’all understand Black voter suppression doesn’t stop on Election Day. It’s just going to get worse because they know what we did. @morethanavote 🙏🏾✊🏾🖤👑 https://t.co/Tl0g752kjL
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 27, 2021
3. In the summer of 2020, James called on other celebrities to “demand change”
“To my brothers and sisters in sports and arts. We have incredible influence in our community,” James wrote. “We need to use this moment to demand change. I gotta be honest…I struggle with what to demand because so damn much needs to change. But I’m starting with our right to vote.”
To my brothers and sisters in sports and arts. We have incredible influence in our community. We need to use this moment to demand change. I gotta be honest…I struggle with what to demand because so damn much needs to change. But I’m starting with our right to vote.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 23, 2020
2. Last year, the NBA player showed his support for NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, who found a “noose” in his garage stall.
“Sickening! @BubbaWallace my brother! Know you don’t stand alone!” the basketball player tweeted. “I’m right here with you as well as every other athlete. I just want to continue to say how proud I am of you for continuing to take a stand for change here in America and sports. @NASCAR I salute you as well!”
The FBI concluded the “noose” was a garage door pull rope that had been in place for months.
Sickening! @BubbaWallace my brother! Know you don’t stand alone! I’m right here with you as well as every other athlete. I just want to continue to say how proud I am of you for continuing to take a stand for change here in America and sports! @NASCAR I salute you as well! 🙏🏾✊🏾👑 https://t.co/1TwkjVHai5
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 22, 2020
1. James shared an anti-Semitic post on Instagram in 2018.
“We be getting that Jewish money, Everything is Kosher,” he wrote on an Instagram post.
Current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is Jewish. Former NBA Commissioner David Stern is Jewish. He wouldn’t appreciate if they quoted offensive lyrics about African Americans. There can’t be a double standard. Very surprising LeBron would be this dumb. https://t.co/yhw6CIPV8Q
— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) December 23, 2018
The NBA player apologized, saying he was simply quoting lyrics from 21 Savage’s song, “Jewish Money.”
“Apologies, for sure, if I offended anyone,” James told ESPN. “That’s not why I chose to share that lyric. I always [post lyrics]. That’s what I do. I ride in my car, I listen to great music and that was the byproduct of it. So, I actually thought it was a compliment and obviously it wasn’t through the lens of a lot of people. My apologies. It definitely was not the intent, obviously, to hurt anybody.”
Beth Baumann is a Political Reporter and Editor at The Daily Wire. Follow her on Twitter @eb454.
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