LeBron James rejected Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s complaint about his social activism and highlighted the hypocrisy of AC Milan’s star comments on Friday.
Ibrahimovic, whose time to play for his former team, LA Galaxy, coincided with James’ first season with the Lakers, criticized James on Thursday in an interview with UEFA for Discovery in Sweden, claiming it was a “mistake” and “not looking good. “”when James and other people” famous “care about politics.
“It was the same guy he said when he was back in Sweden. because his last call wasn’t a safe answer, he felt there was racism when he was in the field,” James said. expert mind, so I’m not the user to turn to because I do my homework. “
Several years ago, Ibrahimovic said he was a victim of “undercover racism” in his local Sweden because his Bosnian roots had given him a surname that historically does not sound Swedish.
“I’m not Andersson or Svensson,” Ibrahimovic told Canal in 2018, referring to what he saw as a racist remedy through the media. “If I did, they’d protect me even if I robbed a bank. “you’d protect me, I’m telling you.
James was not discouraged by Ibrahimovic’s position opposite him and explained why he addressed off-field issues the way he does.
“I would never be silent about things that are wrong,” James said after the Lakers’ 102-93 win over the Trail Blazers on Friday night. “Pontiff for my other friends and pontificate for equality. Social injustice. Racism. Systematic Voter Suppression. There are things in our community.
“Because I was part of my network at one point and I saw things that were happening, and I know what’s still going on because I have an organization of over three hundred kids in my school who are going through the same thing and they want one And I’m their voice. I am your voice, and I use my platform to remain kind to everything that is happening, not only on my network, but also in this country and in the world.
“So in no way am I staying with the sport, because I perceive how tough this platform is and how tough my voice is. “
James then congratulated former WNBA player Renee Montgomery, who co-owner of Atlanta’s dream Friday after the league emphasized former WNBA player Kelly Loeffler, a Republican who opposed WNBA’s racial justice projects last summer, to sell her percentage of the team.
“You can ask Renee if I had killed myself and if I had haggled [what would have happened],” James said, later referring to the two-time WNBA champion as a “beautiful black woman. “
James thanked Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints for their commitment to social justice issues.
“I’m proud to belong to a generation where our voices are heard and the boys speak with a well-informed mindset,” James said. “But the most important thing is that when you speak with your heart, it sounds even louder.
“And we have many guys who communicate from the bottom of their hearts who didn’t have a voice at some point, or now come in and see that they can have a voice and that their voice really matters. I’m proud. “
James ‘I Promised School in Akron, Ohio, not only educates many at-risk youth in their hometown, but also provides housing, a meal program, and vocational education for students’ families.
His organization More Than a Vote helped mobilize more than 40,000 volunteers to paint in polling stations in November’s general election to thwart voter suppression.
“As athletes, we’ve heard this for a long time,” James said. “You deserve to [feel] privileged. You deserve to be grateful to be able to dribble a ball or run a football or be able to sprint a hundred yards or be able to swing a baseball bat and things like that, you don’t deserve to be able to communicate about anything else, regardless of whether it’s right or if you deserve to. But that’s not the case. That’s no longer the case. As long as I’m here, I may not be here for long. “
Policy 24/7 of the latest news and events.