{"id":539624,"date":"2021-05-25T11:06:32","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T15:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=539624"},"modified":"2021-05-25T11:06:34","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T15:06:34","slug":"lebron-james-should-be-ashamed-of-himself-espns-stephen-a-smith-blasts-lebron-over-vaccines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lebron-james-should-be-ashamed-of-himself-espns-stephen-a-smith-blasts-lebron-over-vaccines\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018LeBron James Should Be Ashamed Of Himself\u2019: ESPN\u2019s Stephen A. Smith Blasts LeBron Over Vaccines"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flebron-james-should-be-ashamed-of-himself-espns-stephen-a-smith-blasts-lebron-over-vaccines%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=539624&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1206336130.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>LeBron James has been vocal on many issues. From small things like the NBA play-in tournament, to broader issues like China and presidential elections, James has not been afraid to speak his mind.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On the topic of the COVID-19 vaccine, the NBA and other major American sports leagues have been clear that they want their players to be vaccinated. James however, has generally avoided the question when asked if he has or will receive the vaccine.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This past Friday, James was asked by a reporter whether the NBA\u2019s playoff protocols affected his decision on receiving the vaccine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAnything I do off the floor is predicated to my family, for the majority \u2014 for 99.9% of that,\u201d James <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/31487427\/los-angeles-lakers-lebron-james-violated-protocol-attending-event-nba-says\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> according to ESPN. \u201cSo it\u2019s about the health and safety of my family, and that\u2019s what it came down to.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMe being available to my teammates on the floor is me taking care of my body. Me doing everything I can do to make sure I\u2019m available both mentally, physically and spiritually, as well. But anything of that nature, that\u2019s all family talk.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>ESPN\u2019s Stephen A. Smith was not happy with James\u2019 approach to the questions, and made his feelings clear Monday morning on \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/sports\/stephen-a-smith-blasts-lebron-james-for-having-nothing-to-say-about-covid-vaccine-he-should-be-ashamed-of-himself\/?jwsource=cl\"><span>First Take<\/span><\/a><span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"29\">\n<p><span>Smith: He should be ashamed of himself. LeBron James should be ashamed of himself. It was weak, his response to it. It was leaderless. It was inexcusable for him not to provide a better explanation. I\u2019m talking about his comments when asked about it.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Everybody has the right to their own privacy. You don\u2019t want to let people know whether you took the vaccine or not, that is your business. But there\u2019s a whole bunch of things that LeBron James has elected to speak up about, that he felt was a detriment to our community. Because he\u2019s a leader and he wanted to bring attention and a voice that matters, he felt compelled to speak up. But on the matter of the vaccine, you got nothing to say all of these months.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Nah. It don\u2019t work that way. You either want to be out front and center, bringing a voice to issues, or you don\u2019t. Period. But in this particular instance, where it resonates more exponentially, is the fact that here you are LeBron James, you know what the safety protocols are for the NBA. You know how it looks. You know that it got Kyrie [Irving] held out for a bit longer than he was supposed to be held out, along with other players. But you do it anyway. Why did you do it? Because you\u2019re LeBron James, and we all know who you are.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>Smith\u2019s reaction comes after James was found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/hypocrisy-lebron-james-faces-no-punishment-after-violating-nbas-covid-protocol-to-party-with-drake\">breaking<\/a> the NBA\u2019s health and safety protocols last week after attending a promotional event for the tequila brand Lobos 1707, which James invests in.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The NBA told ESPN on Friday that James\u2019 behavior was a violation of their COVID protocols, but no suspension was handed down and James was allowed to play in the LA Lakers first round game against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Smith went on to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the black community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the vaccines, you\u2019ve spoken out about everything else that you felt was detrimental to the African-American community,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAnd the whole COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be problematic \u2014 not just for everyone in the world \u2014 but in particularly the African-American community. It\u2019s affected us in a very detrimental way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span>Just last month, James inserted himself into the conversation surrounding the Ma\u2019Khia Bryant shooting by tweeting \u201cYOU\u2019RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY.\u201d His tweet caused an uproar, and he later deleted the tweet, but doubled down by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/lebron-james-is-doing-the-nba-and-its-players-a-disservice\"><span>speaking<\/span><\/a><span> on the issue of policing in minority communities.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"9.578313253012\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I\u2019m so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police.&nbsp;I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate -This isn\u2019t about one officer.&nbsp;&nbsp;it\u2019s about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 LeBron James (@KingJames) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KingJames\/status\/1385013333007343619?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 21, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"9.5035460992908\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">ANGER does any of us any good and that includes myself! 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! \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe\u270a\ud83c\udffe\ud83e\udd0e\ud83d\udc51<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 LeBron James (@KingJames) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KingJames\/status\/1385011051087810561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 21, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><i>Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to <\/i><i>sports@dailywire.com<\/i><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i>member<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LeBron James has been vocal on many issues. From small things like the NBA play-in tournament, to broader issues like China and presidential elections, James has not been afraid to &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2312934,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1206336130.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018LeBron James Should Be Ashamed Of Himself\u2019: ESPN\u2019s Stephen A. Smith Blasts LeBron Over Vaccines","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-539624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1206336130.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018LeBron James Should Be Ashamed Of Himself\u2019: ESPN\u2019s Stephen A. 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