Throughout his career in the NBA, LeBron James has been very outspoken when it comes to political issues. Millions of people look up to him and he has a powerful voice. On Tuesday, news broke that a 16-year-old woman named Ma’Khia Bryant was shot and killed by a police officer in Columbus, Ohio. The news of this shooting elicited a response from the Los Angeles Lakers star.
In a now-deleted tweet, James posted a picture of the officer responsible for shooting Bryant and wrote “YOU’RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY.”
LeBron deleted it
While it’s certainly no surprise that James commented on the situation, many people online were upset that he posted a picture of the officer with a message that could be misconstrued as a threat. On Wednesday, prior to James’ tweet, the bodycam footage was released for the Bryant shooting. The footage showed the 16-year-old wielding a knife and about to stab another woman prior to office shooting her.
With that information now in the ether, many called out James for possibly putting the officer at risk by posting a picture to his 49.6 million followers on Twitter. The National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) had a strong response to the tweet and called it “disgraceful.”
.@KingJames, with his vast resources & influence, should educate himself and, frankly, has a responsibility to do so, on the facts before weighing in. This is disgraceful & extremely reckless.
The officer saved a young girl’s life. No amount of gaslighting will change that fact.
Many media pundits also took the opportunity to rip James.
Lebron is not a good person
Lebron James is inciting violence against an Ohio police officer.
This is disgraceful and dangerous.
Is the NBA okay with this? Is Twitter?
Lebron James is speaking out because the wrong person died. If the other person was stabbed to death, he wouldn’t be saying a word.
“YOU’RE NEXT”
This post by @KingJames could be read as an incitement to violence against a @ColumbusPolice officer who responded to the attempted stabbing attack by #MakhiaBryant. LeBron James has deleted the tweet. Here is an archive: t.co/6Dn4LnS22M #BLM
James has become a target for many political actors over recent years. His controversial takes don’t always sit well with a large segment of the population.
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James Sends Message After Deleting Tweet
James clearly was feeling the heat from his “YOU’RE NEXT” tweet and decided to delete it. He then went on to give a little bit more context on why he’s so upset while acknowledging that he probably didn’t go about things in the best way possible.
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! 🙏🏾✊🏾🤎👑
James then explained why he deleted the tweet.
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
James is a massive public figure and has inserted himself into the political arena. That’s always going to ruffle the feathers of a large portion of the population. This will certainly be a learning experience for him.
James is not currently playing right now due to injury. Due to that, it’s not likely he’ll be making an appearance in front of the media anytime soon. That’s unfortunate as it might be beneficial for reporters to ask him some questions on the matter and get more clarity. This won’t be the last time he finds himself in the middle of a political controversy.
James Appears to Have Moved On
The previously mentioned tweets are the last that James has sent on the matter. However, people were still upset with his messaging and decision to not apologize.
Also, @KingJames spare us the fake outrage. You wouldn’t have said a word if the girl had stabbed the other girl to death because it doesn’t fit the narrative. I sense a CNN White House Correspondent gig when you retire…
The second James became a political figure, he opened himself up for these types of days. Regardless, it appears that’s he already moved on from the controversy. In fact, he’s posted a tweet since the previously mentioned ones that have nothing to do with politics.
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LeBron James Called out for Tweet: ‘Not a Good Person’