LeBron hits back at Ibrahimovic criticism of political activism

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James on Friday, February 26, fired back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic and vowed to never stay silent about social causes after he was criticized by the AC Milan forward for sticking his nose into politics.

Ibrahimovic in an interview on Thursday said sportspeople like four-time NBA champion James, who has been one of the NBA’s leading voices against racial injustice and police brutality, should avoid making the mistake of getting involved in political matters and instead focus on only sports.

“I will never shut up about things that are wrong. I preach about my people and I preach about equality, social justice, racism, voter suppression – things that go on in our community,” James told reporters after the Lakers’ 102-93 win against the Portland Trail Blazers.

“I’ll use my platform to continue to shed light on everything that’s going on around this country and around the world. There’s no way I would ever just stick to sports, because I understand how powerful this platform and my voice is.”

James also pointed to comments made by Ibrahimovic in 2018 when the Swedish forward claimed “undercover racism” had caused the media to treat him differently from players that had traditional surnames like Andersson or Svensson.

“He’s the guy who said in Sweden, he was talking about the same things, because his last name wasn’t a (traditional Swedish) last name, he felt like there was some racism going on,” James said.

“I speak from a very educated mind. I’m kind of the wrong guy to actually go at, because I do my homework.”

Famous people

Ibrahimovic said sportspeople like James should quit sticking their nose into politics.

“I like him (James) a lot. He’s phenomenal, but I don’t like when people with a status speak about politics. Do what you’re good at doing,” Ibrahimovic told UEFA and Discovery+ in Sweden.

“I play football because I’m the best playing football, I’m no politician. If I’d been a politician, I would be doing politics.

“This is the first mistake famous people do when they become famous: for me it is better to avoid certain topics and do what you’re good doing, otherwise you risk doing something wrongly.”

James’ longtime activism on racial justice issues and his criticism of Trump prompted white Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham in 2018 to tell him and fellow Black NBA player Kevin Durant to “shut up and dribble.”

Ibrahimovic’s comments were criticized by American sprint great Michael Johnson.

“Okay Ibra, based on your position @KingJames is great at basketball and shouldn’t voice his opinion about politics,” Johnson tweeted.

“You’re really good at football so you shouldn’t voice your opinion about LeBron using his platform for good. Or your opinion on anything outside football!” – Rappler.com