LeBron James has a lot of detractors around the world. It’s not just the likes of Skip Bayless, as LeBron’s staunch political opinions have upset many people who don’t agree with him. One of those people is Colby Covington, who went off on James in a tirade during the UFC 296 Press Conference after having left the stage and coming back.
“If you hate America so much and you don’t like this country that gave you a billion dollars, leave it, or come deal with me. Go to China, go to these sweatshops that employ all these laborers, use these women, and pay pennies on the dollar to make your millions… F*** you, LeBron James, you’re a coward, you’re a spineless coward, and you’re a b****.”
Colby Covington left his media day interview and then came back to say this …
"F*ck Lebron James" #UFC296
His return was unexpected so his microphone was not on for the first few seconds* pic.twitter.com/AvxWRPcRfH
— Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) December 13, 2023
Using the Chinese income argument is incredibly silly from Covington, as this would also extend to every single NBA athlete who has a shoe contract with any major manufacturer that produces shoes in China. That would extend to not only LeBron but also to the likes of Michael Jordan who has built the majority of his wealth through the Jordan Brand, a subsidiary of Nike that is also benefitting from Chinese production.
The overall message of supporting actual workers in China by not empowering brands to treat their workers unfairly is a positive one. But when it’s being used to attack one athlete in particular it falls flat because almost everyone in the sports industry is benefitting from that.
Given the disparity in popularity between the pair and Covington’s on-stage persona, it’s not a surprise he keeps attacking LeBron in public comments.
Colby Covington Has Previously Attacked LeBron James
Covington has previously attacked James for his relationship with China as well, going off on him in 2021 before a fight as well. The points are similar to the ones he made in the UFC 296 presser but with a specific focus on James not condemning various negative elements of Chinese rule.
“Just a big hypocrite. He talks about his two biggest things he loves to talk about equality and justice. Where’s the equality of employing women in Chinese sweatshops to make your merchandise for millions of dollars while they’re making pennies? Where’s the equality in that? Where’s the justice in critiquing the greatest country on God’s green Earth, America but not talking about Hong Kong, not talking about the Uyghurs in China? He stays silent on everything in China because he’s a Chinese puppet master.”
Covington has held onto this point for years and is not inaccurate in describing James’ silence on these specific issues that would involve him criticizing the Chinese government. There’s no doubt that LeBron can be said to have a hypocritical stance while looking at China, but that hypocrisy exists all over the sports industry, especially in the NBA, given what happened in 2019 with Daryl Morey.
As much as people want to say sports aren’t political and shouldn’t be used as a platform for political discussion, it’s simply not true. But people shouldn’t look to their athletes to dish out political advice, whether it’s James or Covington.
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