Former President Trump issued a pretty heavy memorandum directed toward the “RACIST rants” of NBA superstar LeBron James last Thursday.
“I think that LeBron James needs to focus on just ruining the NBA and not ruining the whole country. You know, the NBA has just recorded the lowest television RATINGS, by far, even though the NBA has been around for a long and distinguished time,” Trump said in a prepared statement.
“LeBron has RACIST rants that are nasty, divisive, and demeaning,” Trump continued. “Yes, he might be a great basketball player, but I can’t say he is doing anything to bring our COUNTRY together!”
One of the things that Trump might have been referring to is a controversial tweet that LeBron made regarding the police shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio. He posted a picture of the police officer who had been involved in the shooting with a caption above it reading, “YOU’RE NEXT.”
There were many activists and protesters with angry reactions were angry that Ma’Khia Bryant had called the police on her own accord in regard to a family fight and then she herself ended up being shot and killed instead.
Even though James did what he thought was his part to expound on the narrative, it was totally undermined by video released by the Columbus Police Department that appeared to show that Bryant was lunging at another girl with a knife in her hand.
LeBron deleted the tweet after he received a flood of criticism from not just the former president but many others. However, he did not offer an apology.
“I’m so damn [sic] tired of seeing Black people being killed by police,” he commented. “I went ahead and took the first tweet down because it’s just being used to create more hate. This is not about just one officer; this is about a whole entire system and how they will always use our words just to create more racism. We need more ACCOUNTABILITY.”
OF course, I know I’m playing devil’s advocate here, but this anti-police narrative is actually going to be further bolstered by a neighbor’s surveillance camera that shows the lethal law enforcement encounter at a different angle. Either way, maybe LeBron should just stick to playing basketball.
What do you think? Your comments are appreciated!
