Hating on LeBron James has become its own cottage industry over the years. Some guys like Skip Bayless have pretty much constructed a career out of it. Although it’s fair to say LeBron deserves criticism for some of his choices, it’s also good to be reminded every once in a while that it’s much easier for people in the media to open their mouth than to do what LeBron does.
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Chandler Parsons of the Run It Back podcast was the latest media member to go after LeBron, this time for James’ late decision to sit out the All-Star Game. Parsons challenged LeBron’s sore ankle and foot excuse to back out of the game at the 11th hour, implying instead that he bowed out because he didn’t want to play against the Rising Stars team.
Parsons then tried to connect that take to a bizarre one that LeBron was forcing other NBA players to play against his son Bronny, so why then couldn’t he be bothered to show up for the All-Star Game.
“Here’s the problem I have … all these other NBA players have to play against his son, because LeBron has kind of put him in this situation, so what’s the difference now when he doesn’t want to play against the young guys?”
To his credit, Parsons’ cohost Lou Williams argued against that convenient logic, and he opted to give LeBron credit for even showing up in the first place, something he believed previous greats like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant would not have done.
Phoenix Suns legend Eddie Johnson was not nearly as kind to Parsons as Williams was. As the kids like to say, “I’d like to report a murder.”
Hold up, Chandler made 86,725,831.00 in last 6 seasons played in only 225 games and he is calling out a guy that’s played in 1540 reg season and 287 playoff games and avg 37 minutes questioning why he didn’t play. Not the one! https://t.co/OKWnjqDxdH
— Eddie A Johnson (@Jumpshot8) February 18, 2025
Eddie Johnson tore down the LeBron-hating industrial complex in one tweet
Whatever your feelings on LeBron, you have to admit this was a beautifully crafted tweet. Johnson brought the receipts to take Parsons down, and he’s absolutely correct. Parsons has made a nice post-playing media career for himself, but for him to criticize anyone for not playing when he was accused of basically stealing money at the end of his career is a delicious bit of irony.
Could LeBron have handled sitting out the All-Star Game in a better way? Sure, but this wasn’t the cataclysmic event that some made it out to be. As Omar said in The Wire, “You come at the king, you best not miss.” Parsons’ aim was off.
