An Idaho police officer has gone viral for a TikTok video in which he mocks Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
The video from Nate Silvester — identified by Newsweek as an officer with the Marshal’s Office in Bellevue, Idaho — has been viewed over 3.5 million times as of Monday night. It is the latest bit of backlash from the law enforcement community directed at James following his comments following the death of Ma’Khia Bryant.
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James has been under fire for a tweet that read: “YOU’RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY,” with a photo of officer Nicholas Reardon and an hourglass emoji. James deleted the tweet and explained his reasoning in a series of tweets.
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LeBron James TwitterLeBron James tweet
“I’m so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because it’s 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 wrote on Twitter, before continuing. “ANGER does [not do] 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!”
Video Takes Aim at LeBron James for Tweet
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GettyLeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Silvester regularly weighs in on current events that involve the police through his videos but his latest taking aim at James is his most viral content yet, racking up millions of views since it went live two days ago.
“LeBron, hey, yeah it’s me again,” Silvester says at the start of the clip. “Listen, I’m out here at this disturbance call and there’s a guy trying to stab another guy with a knife. What do you think I should do?”
Silvester then simulates a conversation with James, insinuating that the NBAer asked the race of the people involved in the skirmish.
“Okay, well, they’re both Black. One guy is trying to stab another guy with a knife,” Silvester says. “Deadly force is completely justified.”
He continues: “So, you don’t care if a Black person kills another Black person—but you do care if a white cop kills a black person, even if he’s doing it to save the life of another black person?” the officer asks. “I mean, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but then again, you’re really good at basketball so I guess I’ll take your word for it.”
He slides in one final diss for James before the video is over, mumbling, “Michael Jordan is the GOAT,” before “hanging up.”
LeBron James Focused on Return to Court
While James has received criticism aplenty, the four-time MVP is focused on his return to the court as he recovers from a high ankle sprain.
James has been out nearly a month with the ankle injury, which he suffered when Atlanta’s Solomon Hill took a tumble into his leg. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski revealed that James could be returning this week.
“You’ll see Anthony Davis still be on that 15-minute restriction in his second game back tonight, but that’ll start ramping up as we get closer to LeBron James’ return, which could be as soon as the following week,” Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown on Saturday, via The Spun.
On Monday James posted a video on on Instagram running on a court, further proof that The King is due for a triumphant return soon.
James was an MVP candidate at the time of the injury, averaging 25.4 points on 51.3 percent shooting to go with 7.9 rebounds and 7.9 assists.
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