LeBron James and his mother were on the receiving end of some sickening statements by Bill Simmons 17 years ago, one’s that have resurfaced today.
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Recently, ‘The Ringer’s’ podcaster Ryen Russillo complimented his boss Bill Simmons for the diverse staff that he had in office but stats revealed by The Ringer Union tell a different story.
Bill Simmons has been heavily criticised for not having a diverse workplace and now people have gone onto dig some of his infamous statements made in the past, one’s that could harm his image even further.
The event has caused a 17-year-old statement of sports analyst Bill Simmons, related to LeBron’s mother (Gloria) to be the topic of discussion over the internet.
When Cleveland Cavaliers signed LeBron James as the top pick in the 2003 NBA draft, Sportscaster Mike Tirico referred to LeBron’s mother’s sacrifice in helping James make it to the NBA.
Cleveland signed James for $100m and the boy from Akron hasn’t looked back since, winning 4 MVP titles and 3 NBA rings.
Bill Simmons’ quote for LeBron James’ mother
Sports Analyst Bill Simmons on Mike’s quote said that “What about parents who stayed together, worked hard, provided for their children and put them through school? Since when did not practicing birth control and lucking out because of DNA become a ‘sacrifice’?” he said.
Simmons wanted to convey that the sacrifice made by LeBron James’ mother wasn’t really that great, and a few fans are now connecting the dots and calling Ben Simmons out for racism.
It was very insensitive of Bill Simmons to call Gloria James out like that and the comments seemed to be made in a very irresponsible manner.
The Ringer Event
The Ringer website was founded by Bill Simmons back in 2016 and has been doing pretty well. However, the recent interview/podcast with Bill Simmons has caused an uproar within the organisation. Bill Simmons was praised for addressing concerns of the Black community and for having done so much for them in his workplace and otherwise.
Staff members raised concerns for the same as ‘The Ringer’ has no black editors and staff writers to cover the NBA and NFL which is dominated by Black Americans.
Several black people have left the Ringer in the past which leaves citizens skeptical about the diversity that Ryen Russillo and Bill Simmons have claimed in the podcast.
