LeBron James recently stirred the pot when he made some comments on the Brittney Griner detention in Russia. The WNBA superstar has been detained since February, and everybody in the US has raised their voice to ask for justice for the Phoenix Mercury center.
After traveling to the Euro-Asian country to join a new team, Griner was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport and is now facing up to 10 years in prison if found guilty on charges of drug transportation. Superstars like Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry spoke about this, asking for justice for Griner.
LeBron was the last name to join this list, but his comments were perceived as a shot at the US. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar said that if he were Griner, he would hesitate to return to the country after seeing how much help she’s gotten so far.
“Over 110 days, now, how can she feel like America has her back?” James asked. “I would be feeling like, ‘Do I even want to go back to America?’”
These comments didn’t sit well with plenty of people, and fans started attacking LeBron for them. James would clarify after that, claiming that he didn’t want to offend anybody, but the damage is already done. After Enes Kanter Freedom took a big shot at James, Jason Whitlock got some things off his chest, too, taking big shots at the 4x NBA champion, calling him ‘puppet of China and Nike.’
I'm telling you I have not always passionately disliked .@KingJames. He's earned this…America has blessed LeBron James. He's pissed on America. pic.twitter.com/8yWipofqFf
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) July 13, 2022
“I’m telling you I have not always passionately disliked LeBron James. He’s earned this. Year after year, victim statement after victim statement, dumb statement after dumb statement … Y’all think LeBron is Muhammad Ali and a freedom fighter?”
“LeBron is a puppet for China and Nike. He’s a globalist that does not care about American citizens, black or white. Yes, he has his little school that he contributes a couple of million dollars to in Akron, that’s public relations. That’s not a genuine commitment, that’s good PR.”
LeBron was just expressing his opinion on this matter, but not everybody agreed with his statements. This sparked a lot of reactions around the league, and whoever talks about this is going off on the 37-year-old. Right now, the most important thing is that Griner gets free, but we have to wait to see how the trial develops. Hopefully, things get solved quickly, and we have the player back in the country doing what she loves doing.
